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| Iran |
| Iran Says U.S. Aid Won’t Help Relations |
| 2003-12-31 |
| BAM, Iran (AP) - As survivors of Iran’s earthquake scavenged for clothes and jostled for handouts Tuesday, President Mohammad Khatami thanked the United States for aid but played down talk that Washington’s contribution would thaw frosty relations. ``Humanitarian issues should not be intertwined with deep and chronic political problems,’’ Khatami said. ``If we see change both in tone and behavior of the U.S. administration, then a new situation will develop in our relations.’’ Is it some requirement that Muslim leaders have to be ungrateful? Khatami’s remarks came after Secretary of State Colin Powell said he sees a ``new attitude’’ in Iran that could lead to a restoration of ties between the United States and the Islamic republic that President Bush has called part of an ``axis of evil.’’ ``There are things happening, and therefore we should keep open the possibility of dialogue at an appropriate point in the future,’’ Powell was quoted as saying in Tuesday’s Washington Post. It’d be nice to re-open the embassy. We can help the dissidents and opponents of the regime much better with our people on the ground in Tehran -- tusk, tusk, did I just say that? Iranian leaders have agreed to permit unannounced Apparently they noticed the big stick, just like Q-duck noticed. In the latest U.S. shipment, an American military plane carrying 80 personnel and medical supplies landed early Tuesday in the provincial capital of Kerman. The team reached Bam, 120 miles to the southeast, by midday. Seven U.S. Air Force C-130 cargo planes have already delivered 150,000 pounds of relief supplies - including blankets, medical supplies and water - making the United States one of the largest international donors. The Iranian people seem to be figuring this out much better than the black turbans. Powell tempered his comments about the possibility of restored ties, adding that ``we still have concerns about terrorist activities, of course, and there are other issues with respect to al-Qaida and other matters that we’ll have to keep in mind.’’ Giving us real-time GPS coordinates on the Hezbollah leadership would help. Still, Russia’s Foreign Ministry was quick to welcome Powell’s remarks, saying it ``may become a positive impulse for the movement toward the normalization of relations between these countries. ``In our view, this in turn could promote the strengthening of international security,’’ ministry spokesman Alexander Yakovenko said in a statement. Who cares what you think? |
| Posted by:Steve White |
| #6 Hmmmm. I wonder if the Black Hats would use some of their immense stolen fortunes to help any other country where such a catastrophe occurred... Nawww, they'd just spout some pontification about Allah's will... which makes you wonder when ol' Allah's gonna make a stage call. I keep hearing about the exhortations of various Marvelous Muftis and Grand Doodahs calling on Allah to "shake the ground under the feet of the infidels..." Mebbe he did. But he missed Tehran by quite a bit. Prolly got his geography education in some Merkin school... |
| Posted by: .com 2003-12-31 8:26:58 PM |
| #5 I'm sure Iranians take note of the fact that the world's largest supply of emergency material and the world's best airlift system just happen to be sitting around on the other side of the Persian Gulf. Wot a coincidence! Kuwait City is closer to Bam than Teheran. |
| Posted by: john 2003-12-31 7:33:12 PM |
| #4 Actually, the Koran says that the lowest rung of hell is reserved for the ungrateful. The Mullahs are being unislamic! |
| Posted by: Ptah 2003-12-31 7:01:36 PM |
| #3 fine, 90% of our aid workers will be cia then (nyah nyah nyah!) |
| Posted by: flash91 2003-12-31 12:02:46 PM |
| #2 Is it some requirement that Muslim leaders have to be ungrateful? Not a problem. Should another natural disaster occur in Iran, the mullahs would be wise not to ask for, nor to expect, U.S. assistance. And U.S. government officials would do well to remember Khatami's words. |
| Posted by: Bomb-a-rama 2003-12-31 11:23:31 AM |
| #1 Hey Iran F#@K YOU. |
| Posted by: Cyber Sarge (VRWC CA Chapter) 2003-12-31 11:22:03 AM |