Hoder has more bad news posted on his site. According to him, "Arya" newspaper is banned and many of it's staff are summoned to court. He believes "hard-liners have started a new wave of pressure and this time they are targeting young journalists and activists". He also acknowledges his sense of wonder as to why with the U.S. forces stationed on both sides of Iran, this is happening now.
As I left a message in his "comments" section, "I don't see a contradiction in the new crackdowns and the huge presence of U.S. military in the region. Remember, the deal Zalmay Khalilzad offered the Iranian government was based on Iran staying out of the conflict in Iraq and in exchange they will be left alone. They were also re-assured that any opposition forces in Iraq (MKO) will be dealth with by U.S. forces. Now they are getting their "reward" for being such good boys and not creating havoc for Uncle Sam. MKO, their opposition abroad, is already dealth with and now they will be using the opportunity to be "left alone" to settle some scores with the opposition within. All under the nose of (and with approval of) global policemen of Bush administration. This is just the starting point of what the former governor of Texas and co. have in store for us."
Now as usual, I hope I am completely wrong on this. Only time will tell.
Posted by Pedram at April 21, 2003 11:20 PM