Kamangir (Archer)

Brutality

Kamangir | April 6, 2006 | Category Iran

Iranian news agencies cover the recent students strikes in France in full detail (see) (see). In this way, they try to draw a brutal picture of “the west”. I know nothing about the aims of these protests, but I do remember how Iranian security forces treated the Iranian student strikes a few years ago (see) (see).

Fantasy

Kamangir | April 6, 2006 | Category Iran

Which one is more dangerous, an Iranian torpedo which is four times faster than any other one in the world and radars do not detect it or a member of Basij in a not very fast fishing boat-like vessel?
The world is anxiously following Iranian’s show off of James Bond style weaponry such as a modern flying boat. To increase the heat, Iran’s minister of defense announces that the equipments surfaced in the recent maneuver were just a few “samples of the more advanced ones that Iran has and will be shown in the recent future” (see). He adds that any sanctions would have no effect on Iran’s military power, “because we are using the native creativity”. He also explicitly rejects the claims that the parade was fabricated by Russian weaponry (see). The question still remains, is there any reason to be more afraid of Iran’s war machine reading these news. My answer is no.

During the war with Iraq, Iranians proved that they have developed their own version of Islamic fighting. From one point of view, this method is very nobel; for example Iran never used any chemical weapon against the Iraqi sadists who very frequently used them even against their own citizens. Also, when Iranians lost their temper because of rigorous bombardments of their cities, Iran announced their bombing policy which included not attacking holy cities and residential areas. So, after all, Iranian’s Islamic fighting includes items of ethics. On the other side, there were numerous reports that the commanders had provoked soldiers to step on mine fields to open a path. The soldiers were reported to be mind-washed by claims that Imam Mehdi is waiting for them at the end of the field. Basically, Islamic rituals had been a serious part of the war for Iranians and were practiced seriously in the front line. Even now, they call it “the defensefence” (Persian: دفاع مقدس). So, Islamic fighting means assuming yourself a member of the divine Mahdi army and to fight for God’s will, by any religiously sound means.
For an Islamic fighter equipments do not provide victory. The most important weapon for an Islamic fighter is his most precious belonging, his body. This is what westerners do not easily understand when they hear news about suicide attacks in Iraq and Israel. When you do not bother thinking about how you would return, you can easily plan serious attacks even with a few individuals, very much like what happened to USS Cole (see). In this way, I see a flying boat as a misleading fantasy in shadow of which God’s soldiers can do their sneaky job.