Transcript: Iran 2019 – All The Makings of Iraq 2003? Similarities and Differences – May 28, 2019 – Part One.
The Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz
Iran 2019 – All The Makings of Iraq 2003? Similarities and Differences. An audio interview with Ibrahim Kazerooni and Rob Prince. KGNU, Hemispheres, Middle East Dialogues. May 28, 2019. Part One.
KGNU – Interview, May 28, 2019 Transcript…
The main point is rather simple: the entire Middle East region is in great turmoil that risks some kind of an explosion from who-knows-where. There are, frankly, so many possibilities. The possibilities are not only in the Persian Gulf – Rob Prince
The complexity of what is going on in the region, the charged environment, has reached the point that it could spark so kind of a major conflict with unintended consequences – Ibrahim Kazerooni
1.
Jim Nelson: Good evening and thanks for tuning into Hemispheres on Community Radio at KGNU in Denver, Boulder and Ft. Collins. You can tune us in at www.kgnu.org or I’m your host Jim Nelson. This evening on Hemispheres, We continue the Middle East Dialogues. As always joining me in these conversations are Ibrahim Kazerooni and Rob Prince.
We might as well get started. Tonight we’re going to be talking about the threat of a U.S. attack on Iran. The Trump Administration is building towards a military confrontation with the Islamic Republic of Iran and in the past three weeks the situation has become that much more tense as if the world is on the edge of a precipice.
I was telling Rob just prior to going on the air, that it feels like we’re going back in time before the Iran Nuclear Deal (the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action) with the Obama Administration and a number of other parties.
Rob, you are going to begin?
Rob Prince: You’re correct Jim, we could go back in time and in fact we could go back in time far prior to the signing of the July 20, 2015 signing of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. We will do that some, but before that, introducing the subject, there is no question that the tensions between the United States and Iran have reached something close to a boiling point and that we’re in a very dangerous moment.
We want to start off by looking at the complexity of the situation, just touching on a few of the main points, the hot spots.
The main point is rather simple: the entire Middle East region is in great turmoil that risks some kind of an explosion from who-knows-where. There are, frankly, so many possibilities. The possibilities are not only in the Persian Gulf.
The situation has been rapidly deteriorating since Trump pulled out of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, more commonly known here in the United States as the Iran Nuclear Deal. Read more…
Iran, surrounded by U.S. military bases. 70,000 U.S. military personnel in the region..
Note – accidentally posted wrong interview, one from an earlier program. Changed it. Correct interview is below
Audio Interview. Iran 2019 – All The Makings of Iraq 2003? Similarities and Differences – An Audio Interview with Ibrahim Kazerooni and Rob Prince. KGNU – Hemispheres, Middle East Dialogues with Jim Nelson. May 28, 2019. Program begins 1 minute 35 seconds into the program.
Hear Ibrahim Kazerooni and Rob Prince on KGNU Boulder (88.5 FM, 1390 AM, Streaming at http://www.kgnu.org) on Hemispheres, Middle East Dialogues hosted by Jim Nelson, Tues, May 28, 2019 @ 6-7 pm Mountain States Time. The program is also available for streaming or downloading tomorrow at KGNU’s archives.
We have been talking about the region on this program for many years by now. As you indicated, the situation is very tense and very volatile. Even taking Donald Trump at his word that he doesn’t want war, but the charged situation is such that only one small spark is needed – wherever it comes from – for the whole region to escalate, spiral out of control, in large measure becaues the United States does not have any strategy to exit the crisis – Ibrahim Kazerooni – KGNU – May 28, 2019
Written transcript will follow.
Iran, surrounded by U.S. military bases. 70,000 U.S. military personnel in the region..
Hear Ibrahim Kazerooni and Rob Prince on KGNU Boulder (88.5 FM, 1390 AM, Streaming at http://www.kgnu.org) on Hemispheres, Middle East Dialogues hosted by Jim Nelson, Tues, May 28, 2019 @ 6-7 pm Mountain States Time. The program is also available for streaming or downloading tomorrow at KGNU’s archives
1.
Last night (May 21, 2019) J-Street, the liberal spin off of the mainstream Jewish Community that supports a two-street solution to the Israeli-Palestinian issue, not shy about calling Israel’s presence in the West Bank and Gaza for what it is – an occupation – hosted a conversation with author Peter Beinart, contributing editor of the Atlantic Magazine.
He spoke at Denver’s Jewish Community Center to an audience of about 100, from what I could tell, overwhelming Jewish, middle and upper middle class. Beinart is no lightweight. He is articulate, personable and relaxed, as comfortable discussing the Torah and the Old Testament as he is talking about the impact of the Israeli Occupation on Palestinian lives, the dangers of a war with Iran. Easily one of the most progressive speakers to be featured at an event at the Jewish Community Center, he connected to his audience.
He builds on and is a part of the tradition of liberal Zionists, Einstein, Israel Shahak, Uri Avnery, Menachem Klein that have tried to tone down Zionism’s harsher edge, speak of and try to practice universal human rights that includes the Palestinians, criticize the Occupation, but somehow still “love Israel.” In Israel they are a dying breed as the country lurches rightward to more ethnic cleansing of Palestinians, strangling Gaza. Still they are what is left – modest as it is – of what might be referred to as Israel’s conscience and I cannot and do not disregard them. To the contrary, I hold them in high respect. They all have shown some genuine courage…
As for the overall content of Beinart’s remarks, I’ll reserve more in depth thoughts for later, excepting one point: several times – it was more than once – Beinart zeroed and openly criticized Israel’s harsh treatment of Palestinian children, 700 a year of whom have been arrested in late night raids, separated from their parents, thrown into Israeli prisons, mistreated, traumatized, in many documented cases tortured. He did not shy from either addressing these practices or openly criticizing them. Read more…
Washington and Tehran are Not in Favor of War Amidst Corporate Media Hysteria — The Rabbit Hole
Published by InfoRos on May 20th, 2019, written by Sarah Abed For far too long the United States has effectively used deception, false pretexts, and manufactured consent along with obfuscated justifications to wage costly wars against sovereign nations. Costly not only in the millions of human lives lost, but also the destruction of infrastructure, including […]
via Washington and Tehran are Not in Favor of War Amidst Corporate Media Hysteria — The Rabbit Hole
Children of Beit Ummar
Dear Friends,
Once again, our small but active group in Colorado – Center for Freedom and Justice – Colorado has started a fund drive to raise funds for our sister organization – the Center for Freedom and Justice in Beit Ummar, West Bank, Palestine.
Last year, we were able to raise more than $4000 that went for buying book bags for elementary school students in Beit Ummar. The project was a success. I can’t tell you how appreciative the kids in Beit Ummar were to receive these useful items, and how thrilled we, of the Colorado committee were that our friends and relatives, many with little or no connection to the Palestinian situation came forth with their generosity.
Again, I thank you.
Our Colorado committee has approved another project – helping fund a summer camp for the children of Beit Ummar, call ed Summer Discovery Camp for 70 students (ages 9-14) to introduce them to technology, give them a fun experience and provide greatly needed relief from the Occupation.
At the camp the children will be divided into small groups and given kits consisting of a laptop computer and devices to teach programming (over 50% of the children in Palestinian schools have no access to computers). The groups will try to build robots. Field and swimming trips will be the reward the children get for their work.
At the end of the Camp the children will showcase their accomplishments by hosting an exhibition for their parents, principals and teachers.
- Help from others gives the children hope that they are not alone
- We rely on the generous contributions of supporters like you to fund the Summer Discovery Camp. This time we (in Colorado) are trying to raise $4000 for the following:
5 Laptop Computers $1900
Snacks, Swimming and Field Trip $1700
Materials, Exhibition Day and other Costs $ 400
TOTAL $4000
The children of Beit Ummar live in an impoverished community where 60% of the adult population is unemployed. The town is surrounded by six Israeli settlements and has been under military occupation since 1967. Children face the horrors of night-time raids and a constant fear their houses will be demolished or that they or members of their family will be taken away. One-third of all Palestinian children incarcerated in Israeli prisons come from Beit Ummar. The traumas these children have experienced cannot be adequately described.
To contribute, please make checks payable to CFJ Colorado and mail to 1727 E. 25th Ave, Denver CO, 80205 or donate online at https:www.gofundme.com/a-summer-camp-for-children-in-beit-ummar.
To learn more about the situation in Beit Ummar, visit our Facebook page at Center for Freedom and Justice- Colorado (http://www.facebook.com/CFJColorado).
Billie Bramhall
May 15. 2019
Received the news this morning that Billie Bramhall, whose extraordinary life of social activism, commitment to social justice and peace lasted a lifetime, died last Thursday (May 9). She had contracted pneumonia a few months ago and never completely recovered. Her son Fred Bramhall was with her when she died.
These last years – well into her 90s – she worked hard for the rights of the homeless, working closely with Denver Out Loud, effective mass-based movement of homeless people. Billie worked hard against Denver’s repressive “camping ban” denying homeless people the rights to rest on public property and was actively in support of Initiative 300 (which failed) that was put before Denver voters to rescind that law.
July 7, 2019
Yesterday Nancy and I went to the memorial for Billie Bramhall at the First Unitarian Church (1400 Lafayette). The chapel was filled with family and friends, several hundred strong. The program lasted about an hour and fifteen minutes. Quite moving to see how many lives Billie touched – and virtually all in a most positive way.
Billie was…in a word…a force, a force for good.
We were connected in more ways than politically.
She grew up in the South Bronx, a few blocks from Yankee Stadium, – not far from where my father experienced his first years. She went to Hunter College High School, one of NYC’s finest. Exactly ten years before Billie, my dad, Herb Prensky ,went to Styvesant High School, an equally prestigious public institution. A close friend, Eileen Coppola, was for a time, more recently, the principle at Hunger College High School.
There was so much richness in Billie’s life, too much to detail here where I only comment on a few aspects. A granddaughter did a slide show, if it is put on dvd, it would be worth circulating. Gave a wonderful flavor of Billie’s life and the photos were wonderful. I ove old photos.
Two points about the memorial that struck me..
Firstly, the family did not hide the fact that Billie and Dave were active in the Communist Party USA in the 1940s, 1950s, a very difficult time to be any kind of leftist, no less a communist. Most families for former communists play that down. in memorial services that I have attended. Kudos to the family for not purging that important part of their lives, and for celebrating Billy’s and Dave’s commitment and militancy. At the reception just after the ceremony, concerning Billie’s adhesion to the CP, Nancy heard several people commenting with some surprise “We didn’t know….”
With the poise that characterized her whole life, Billie refused to testify before the House of Un-American Activities Committee and made a moving statement to that end – a video of which was shown at the memorial. They both left the CPUSA – as did many others – in the aftermath of Khrushchev’s famous 1956 speech exposing and condemning the crimes of Stalin. But they never abandoned their commitment to social justice, to the working class, to socialism, even if they didn’t talk much about it – the values of their youth and were active and committed until the end; Billie was the more practical of the two – the eternal “problem solver”, Dave was more theoretical. They made a wonderful and effective couple and team.
At the time that Billie and Dave were involved in the Communist Party here in Colorado, it was very much of a force both in the working class (trade union movement) and in work for civil rights (the Civil Rights Congress). It had several hundred members and a strong base in the working class and among the Chicano and Black populations in the state. It was all but destroyed during the McCarthy period and never regained its former influence.
Secondly the love that the two shared for each other during more than seventy years of marriage came shining through. They were lovers, friends, discussed pretty much everything – and everyone – together and rather than the bond weakening and growing more stale, it only deepened and strengthened over time. The love, affection and respect that people in the room felt for her came pouring out. We have no doubt that the values to which Billie and Dave dedicated their lives will live on in their family and friends.
They have, as the saying goes, passed the torch.
We were glad to have attended. Below is an extract from yesterday’s program
Omar Montgomery (left, gesturing with his hand) speaking to taxi cab drivers between shifts at D.I.A. – overwhelmingly immigrants, from the Horn of Africa (Ethiopia, Eritrea, Somalia, South Sudan) with a good number of Moroccans and Iraqis to boot. The election is on November 5, 2019.
I saw it with my own eyes – how comfortable, relaxed how he connected with taxi drivers, overwhelmingly immigrants from the Horn of Africa and the Middle East. And they reciprocated. There was real dialogue – not the contrived, controlled pablum that passes for politics as usual in Colorado and nationwide.
And it will be one of the most important political races in the country this coming November – the contest for mayor in Aurora, Colorado.
Omar Montgomery, University of Colorado – Denver professor and Afro-American Student Adviser, chair of the Aurora, Colorado NAACP Chapter is running for mayor in Aurora, Colorado, Colorado’s third largest city (after Denver, Colorado Springs) and the home of the state’s greatest ethnic, religious and racial diversity, a stronghold of Colorado immigrants priced out of Denver due to soaring rental and home purchase costs.
With a few others, I was a part of a group that accompanied Montgomery to a large parking area near a local taxi stand just prior to and after a shift change. Although frankly, Montgomery doesn’t need introductions, we were there to introduce Montgomery to them., an Ethiopian member of his team, Amharic speaking, Ambay Tessema, another, Montgomery’s campaign manager, Michael Himawan and me (for no good reason). Read more…
The Denver Municipal Election results – Overall morning-after assessment: bad but could be worse.
Candi CdeBaca…still in there. Worth supporting
The Denver Municipal Election results – Overall morning- after assessment: bad but could be worse.
Initiative 300 – “Right to Survive” homeless initiative clobbered – no surprise, still expect and hope that Denver Out Loud will soldier on. What choice do they/we have? Vote a reflection of the deepening prejudice against homeless people, ugly, racist, fear mongering advertising – some $2 million – behind it. So, back to the drawing board …la lutta continua.
The Mayoral Race run-off – two sides of the same development coin. Still, Lisa Calderon (whom we supported) had a respectable showing… hope that she hangs in there and continues to build broaden her base.
Council races…biggest disappointment – results in our district, District one where Amanda Sandoval will face off with Mike Somma… Without going into details, both represent different but competing factions of the districts old guard, little more. Run-off will be about as boring as the mayoral one. Can’t say – for different reasons that the community will benefit that much from either of them. We need new faces, new ideas – about limiting the gentrification epidemic, the bleeding of our working class, Chicano residents, etc. Neither of these candidates will do squat to address these issues. They are both old wine in not so new bottles. Hope they both lose.
In other races, only worth commenting on District 9, 10..where Candi CdeBaca and Chris Hinds were able to get enough votes to force a run-off. Both ran strong, focused campaigns and have shown that they have a base of support that gives them a shot at winning. Will use our waning political influence to support both.
Mary Beth Sussman and Paul Lopez, would have done better to call it a day and step aside, but they couldn’t seem to do that, could they? Both spent political forces,
Bottom line – regardless of who wins, no substantial changes at the mayor’s office – the real power in the city, expect continued rampant development, displacement, a police force that is out of control and a city that cannot bring under control the many forces that, “for a few dollars more” will bring this city to its knees in time.
Possibly a slight shift in the city council – depends on how the run offs play out, but not much.
Cheers, still living the dream…
Jihad al-Masharawi, a Palestinian employee of BBC Arabic, carries the body of his 11-month-old son Omar, killed by the recent (May 4, 5, 2019) Israeli air strike in Gaza City
For those who mercilessly slam Democracy Now! (it does deserve criticism for its Syria coverage)… and to use a Colorado expression – throw out the cannabis buds with the branches – here is Amy Goodman and Democracy Now! at its best – the coverage of the latest Israeli attack on Gaza which ended after three days with a cease fire. (See the end of this commentary)…
Kilwa Kisiwani — Teaching High School Biology in Tanzania: A Peace Corps Volunteer Experience
Kilwa Kisiwani is located on a small island about 300 km south of Dar es Salaam. It was occupied from the 9th to 19th century and reached its peak prosperity and influence in the 13th and 14th centuries. Kilwa Kisiwani was founded in 975 by Hassan ben Ali from Shiraz, Persia. Its importance as a […]
via Kilwa Kisiwani — Teaching High School Biology in Tanzania: A Peace Corps Volunteer Experience
Gerry Muehl in late 2018, at home visiting his wife, his framed military service award behind him
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“Employee turnover [in Colorado state institutions] is at record highs, approaching 30% annually in some departments, and its proving increasingly difficult to fill vacant positions, many having remained unfilled for six months or more.”
Miller Hudson, ColoradoPolitics.com
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It’s a “catch- 22″. If you don’t know the rules it’s your fault; if you do know (the rules) but don’t follow them the right way it’s still your fault. It’s never really been explained to me.
Gerry Muehl. March 5, 2019
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Less than three months ago, I interviewed Gerry Muehl, Vietnam veteran who spent his last days at the Colorado State Veterans Home at Fitzsimons (on the Anschutz Medical Campus). I was informed yesterday (May 2, 2019) that he died on the day before, on May Day, 2019. I was not surprised. Gerry was a Buddhist. He asked that there be no memorial service, he be cremated and that his ashes be placed at Ft. Logan, military cemetery in southwest Denver.
In a recent interview he had elaborated some of his then medical problems. I quote from the taped interview done with him:
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“In 1966 I got tested for diabetes; I found out I had diabetes. The condition progressed from diabetes to glaucoma and Parkinson’s Disease. I’ve had disc degeneration in my back where two discs were dissolving. There’s nothing they can do about it. I’ve had four discs from C-3 to C-7 fixed in my neck. I’ve had both my shoulders replaced with artificial shoulders. I don’t have any kind of left shoulder anymore because the last two they put in kept dislocating so they didn’t put another one in… I’ve got an artificial knee. I’ve got throat cancer and probably lung cancer and the diagnosis is I’m dying.”
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The man obviously wasn’t well. Read more…
The Rohingya
Here is my interview with Dr. Haider Khan was aired on May 1, 2019 on KGNU’s “A Public Affair” at 8:30 am. The interview was conducted a month prior in KGNU’s Denver studios. It begins thirty seconds into the program and continues for nearly 25 minutes.
Haider Khan and I were colleagues at the University of Denver’s Korbel School of International Studies where I taught for 22 years. He hails from Bangladesh, participated as a young man in the liberation struggles of his country that led to the separation of Bangladesh from Pakistan. In that 1971 war the Pakistani forces committed mass genocide against Bangladeshis, the price for freedom estimated at more than a million (as many as three million by some sources).
The Rohingya are victimized by what is, by any definition, an ethnic cleansing and a genocide. Ethnic hatred merges with geo-political factors as Dr. Khan well explains. Dr. Khan’s expertise on the situation of the Rohingya becomes clear in this interview in which many ways we just scratched the surface of the subject.
The entrance to what was Sugar City’s sugar beet factory, long dismantled. Now empty space
Although I was headed south towards Rocky Ford and La Junta, when I saw a sign that said “Sugar City” five miles east, I stopped the car on the side of the road, took a minute to reconsider, shifted mental gears and headed east. Sugar City. I’d heard of a few months back in Nathrop north. of Salida where Nancy and I were visiting our friend Harriet Patton. Somehow the history of Colorado’s sugar beet industry came up – a subject that I will probably write about in depth some day. Harriet has a good friend who grew up in Sugar City with whom she is still in touch.
But it sounded odd to me, location-wise.
The heart of Colorado’s sugar beet industry – for the past half century now a mostly defunct industry – lay in the state’s northeast quadrant taking advantage of irrigation waters from the Cache la Poudre and South Platte Rivers. Ft. Collins, Greeley, Ft. Morgan, as far northeast as Julesberg and as close to Denver as Brighton, all cut their teeth economically on growing sugar beets.
Along with cattle, corn and wheat, sugar beets were up there as some of the state’s most profitable agricultural products. Waves of the state’s population, from Mexican laborers to Volga Germans to Japanese farmers were drawn to Colorado in the days when the heart of sugar beet production required nothing short of back-breaking work. Sugar beet production, then and now, requires enormous water inputs. But Sugar City is located in southeastern Colorado, some miles north of the Arkansas River, where water resources, although they exist, are far more restricted. I was curious to see the place with my own eyes.
What is a five mile detour anyway when it can offer a slice of history? Read more…
Hear Ibrahim Kazerooni and Rob Prince on KGNU Boulder (88.5 FM, 1390 AM, Streaming at http://www.kgnu.org) on Hemispheres, Middle East Dialogues hosted by Jim Nelson, Tues, April 23, 2019 @ 6-7 pm Mountain States Time. The program is available for streaming or downloading tomorrow at KGNU’s archives
View from the Left Bank: Rob Prince's Blog 