The Latest from Iran (26 October): Microbes, Propaganda, and the US Government-Wikileaks Conspiracy

1940 GMT: Subsidy Cuts Watch. The head of the State Inspectorate Organization, Mostafa Pour-Mohammadi, has criticized the Government for not yet implementing the subsidy reform plan, saying even one day of delay causes huge losses to the national economy.

Mehr notes that the Government made support payments in three provinces last Monday but that there has been no developments since then and the lack of information has caused worries among the people.

1935 GMT: The Khamenei Roadshow. It's Day 7 of the Supreme Leader's visit to Qom, and the tension of whether he would meet senior clerics has given way to setpieces with other groups --- today's was a speech to youth and university students.

Still, it may be telling that Ayatollah Khamenei still feels he has to defend an election held more than 16 months ago. He insisted that protesters should have followed legal methods to file their challenges, and he complained about the “lack of insight” by some candidates who claimed the presidential vote was rigged.

The Supreme Leader also denounced the US and its allies, saying atrocities committed by foreign forces in Iraq and Afghanistan show that they are the "enemies of humanity" and the "result of the Western world's distance from divine thought" and the “abuse of power and wealth” by hegemonic powers.

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Iraq: Six Answers on the War and the State of the Country (Rosen)

1. On the war in Iraq, the wisdom of the Beltway pundits might be summed up this way: Bush’s efforts were floundering, then Petraeus saved the day with his surge, converting an ambiguous situation into an unqualified success. What’s the matter with this analysis?

Success isn’t a relevant concept....

The various events that have come to be called “the surge” actually started well before Petraeus took over the war in Iraq, although he did help support and institutionalize some of the changes. And the civil war and cleansing continued well into the surge.

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Iran Conunudrum: Philosophy, No Philosophy in Tehran (Yeranian)

The Iranian government says it will curtail the study of western traditions, including philosophy, being taught in Iran.  The statement is likely to increase the controversy over UNESCO's decision to hold this year's World Philosophy day in Tehran.

Many Western philosophers are blasting the decision by UNESCO to hold World Philosophy Day in Iran, next month, because of Tehran's dismal record of academic and press freedom.

The growing chorus of complaints over the UNESCO conference coincides with the Iranian government decision over the weekend to restrict the teaching of various academic subjects, including philosophy, at Iranian universities.

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Humiliate, Strip, Threaten: "Enhanced Interrogation", British Style (Cobain)

The British military has been training interrogators in techniques that include threats, sensory deprivation and enforced nakedness in an apparent breach of the Geneva conventions, the Guardian has discovered.

Training materials drawn up secretly in recent years tell interrogators they should aim to provoke humiliation, insecurity, disorientation, exhaustion, anxiety and fear in the prisoners they are questioning, and suggest ways in which this can be achieved.

One PowerPoint training aid created in September 2005 tells trainee military interrogators that prisoners should be stripped before they are questioned. "Get them naked," it says. "Keep them naked if they do not follow commands." Another manual prepared around the same time advises the use of blindfolds to put prisoners under pressure.

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Iran Feature: Why It is Vital to Speak Out for the US Hostages

The not-so-new claim that three US hikers were taken by Iranian forces in Iraqi territory has been resurrected by this weekend's Wikileaks documents. This drama should not obscure the even more important matter: while Sarah Shourd has been released, Josh Bauer and Shane Fattal are still being held in Tehran as hostages.

At this hour, it is vital to the interests of the West and of Iran's citizens, not to mention an urgent matter for the hostages, that people open their mouths about them. The facts about those held on bogus charges in Iran's prisons, classifying them as hostages, as soon as possible. These cases need to be publicised and brought to the attention of the world so that it knows that Iran's leaders are not just committing abuses against their own citizens but also against citizens of other countries. 

Instead of sheepishly accepting Iran's aggressive and law-breaking actions, the West needs to act immediately and speak forcefully. Otherwise, Tehran will continue to detain foreigners and may even go so far as to abduct them to win favours in negotiations.

It’s time to get the hikers home.

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A Beginner's Tour of the US Elections: Early Voting, The Toss-Up Races, and the Loss of Moderation

As EA has looked at some of the races, and issues, that will determine who will control the US Congress come 3 November, large numbers of voters have already gone to the polls and cast their ballot. Procedures vary from state to state, but estimates suggest that fully 30% of the votes in these mid-terms will be made before the traditional focus of Election Day.

Early voting is worth noting because it is contributing to a major shift that is occurring in American politics: the increasing inability of politicians to present themselves, or act in Washington as, moderate politicians.

Here are the eight toss-up elections, with the latest polling figures, which will decide which party controls the next Senate --- currently there are 57 Democrats, 2 Democrat-allied Independents, and 41 Republicans. We profiled Nevada and Kentucky last week; here are the six others....

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Iran Video: State Media Exposes Evil, Godless Facebook

IRIB 1, the main Iranian channel, gives you the truth about Facebook:

Israel: Settlements Flat Out, Netanyahu's Jewish State, and the "Partnership to Peace"

The building of Jewish settlements in the West Bank in the last three weeks, since the 10-month moratorium on construction ended, has been more than four times faster than in the last two years. Still, the building of 544 homes "has [had] no real effect on the map of a possible (peace) agreement", according to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He said on the 15th anniversary of the assassination of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin:

You were skeptical and careful, respectful and thoughtful, and you were determined to continue down a road leading to peace. I am a partner to your approach that we must always continue pushing for peace.

In the 15 years that passed, fundamental Islam has strengthened. It won the elections in Gaza, took over southern Lebanon, and has threatened the United States.

So, while persisting for peace, one has to recognise who is behind the threat of this "fundamental Islam". Netanyahu continued:

We do not want to take away from the Palestinian the right to self definition. We want the Jewish state to be recognized and protected. Our insistence on security is not an excuse.

We left Lebanon and now Iran is touching the fence. We left Gaza and now Iran is touching that fence. We cannot let this happen a third time… There is no doubt that Rabin, as a man of security, would have agreed to this insistence. 

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Middle East Inside Line: Fatah-Hamas Talks; Israel's "Gesture" in the West Ban

Fatah and Hamas Reunification Talks: On Sunday, Hamas announced that it reached an agreement with its rival Fatah party to hold a meeting next week. The two groups were supposed to mee last week in Damascus, but tension between Syria's President Bashar Assad and Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas led to a cancellation, followed by a series of arrests by the rival parties in the Gaza and West Bank.

Though next week's venue is yet be declared, Salah Bardaweel, a Hamas legislator and spokesman in the Gaza Strip, said he did not rule out the possibility that the meeting would still be held in the Syrian capital:

Fatah leaders should not waste their time searching for similarities in the political platforms of Hamas and Fatah. The only thing we could have in common is not recognizing Israel’s existence.

In response, Osama Qawasmeh, a Fatah spokesman in the West Bank, said that Hamas was ready to recognize Israel’s existence if a Palestinian state were to be established in the entire West Bank, Gaza Strip, and eastern Jerusalem.

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Afghanistan Special: Who is Trying to Undermine Possible US-Iran Co-operation?

UPDATE 0940 GMT: President Hamid Karzai has acknowledged that his office has received cash from Iran, but insists it is a "transparent" process. Karzai said he money was not for an individual but to help run the Presidential office.

Karzai added that many countries, including the US, had given similar assistance.

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The Obama Administration has long been divided over whether to pursue a "grand settlement" with Tehran on regional issues as well as the nuclear question or to ostracise Iran (or even doing elements of both at the same time). On this occasion, it just so happens that this bureaucratic saga intersects with the mysteries of internal Afghan politics.

If the narrative of "peace talks" continues, this collision will be ongoing. That, rather than the anonymously-spun tale "Iran is Said to Give Top Karzai Aide Cash by The Bagful" in The New York Times, is the real story here.

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