acushla
03-05-2006, 01:42 AM
"War is over. Saddam finished! Saddam hiding in Russian Embassy."
They were wildly excited. To my astonishment, one of them began saying "Pahlavi! Pahlavi!"
I said: "You mean the Shah? He was good?" "The son of Pahlavi - very good!" He was talking of the soi-disant Crown Prince, Reza Pahlavi, heir of the late Shah, Mohammed Pahlavi. Another said, with particular emphasis: "We are Iranians, Iranians." I said: " 'Persians' even?" "Yes, Persians - Cyrus the Great, Darius."
I then realised that the excitement was not just over the destruction of Saddam - a man universally hated for the eight-year "imposed war" that he fought against Iran, in which half a million died and many thousands were gassed - but over the prospects the war might have for Iran itself. Another said: "This government is worse than Saddam Hussein. You cannot be serious. But yes - if the Americans and English come and land at the airport with their troops, Iranians will throw flowers at them. Please tell them this in England, please, please, please!"
Does this represent Iranian opinion? Is their antagonism to their own government so intense that they would actually welcome foreign invaders?
If this interests you then read the full article here:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml;jsessionid=QQB3YABBXYXULQFIQMGCFGGAVCBQ UIV0?xml=/news/campaigns/iran/casey.xml
They were wildly excited. To my astonishment, one of them began saying "Pahlavi! Pahlavi!"
I said: "You mean the Shah? He was good?" "The son of Pahlavi - very good!" He was talking of the soi-disant Crown Prince, Reza Pahlavi, heir of the late Shah, Mohammed Pahlavi. Another said, with particular emphasis: "We are Iranians, Iranians." I said: " 'Persians' even?" "Yes, Persians - Cyrus the Great, Darius."
I then realised that the excitement was not just over the destruction of Saddam - a man universally hated for the eight-year "imposed war" that he fought against Iran, in which half a million died and many thousands were gassed - but over the prospects the war might have for Iran itself. Another said: "This government is worse than Saddam Hussein. You cannot be serious. But yes - if the Americans and English come and land at the airport with their troops, Iranians will throw flowers at them. Please tell them this in England, please, please, please!"
Does this represent Iranian opinion? Is their antagonism to their own government so intense that they would actually welcome foreign invaders?
If this interests you then read the full article here:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml;jsessionid=QQB3YABBXYXULQFIQMGCFGGAVCBQ UIV0?xml=/news/campaigns/iran/casey.xml