by Soraya Sepahpour-Ulrich A month has passed since Donald Trump was declared president-elect soon to be the 45th president of the United States. Since his win, pundits, analysts, and experts continue to debate the victory – a surprise to most. While the reason/s for this victory depend on one’s perspective, most agree on one thing: Trump is unpredictable. But is he really? There is clear indication that US foreign policy
by Soraya Sepahpour Ulrich Some final thoughts – the day after Not the movie about a fictional war between NATO forces and the Warsaw Pact and a nuclear exchange between the United States and the Soviet Union, but the Day After the Implementation Deal of the Iran Nuclear Deal. Although I said and wrote repeatedly in the past that the US stance toward Iran will not change, by now it
by Soraya Sepahpour-Ulrich Virtually everyone is familiar with Pinocchio’s story __ a wooden puppet carved by Gepetto brought to life by a fairy that instructed him to be “brave, truthful, and unselfish” in order to remain a real boy. What I remember the most about Pinocchio was his failure to heed the fairy, his nose growing longer with every lie. This seems to be the case with Tehran Bureau’s unnamed
by Soraya Sepahpour-Ulrich Who is a terrorist? Undoubtedly, what comes to mind is Daesh (ISIL), al-Qaeda, MKO, Boko Haram, etc. What is terrorism? The events of 9/11 and the gruesome beheadings carried out by Daesh shape our visual perception of terrorism. What is left unmentioned and unrecognized in our collective psyche is the kind of terrorism that has been deliberately obfuscated: sanctioned terrorism or terrorism with a license – sanctions.
by Soraya-Sepehrpour-Ulrich ‘Shared Values’: The Washington – Wahhabi Alliance Shortly after 911, Washington declared ‘war on terror’ – a war with a death toll of over 2 million innocent lives (not counting America’s drone hunts), the maimed, the refugees, as well as the environmental effects of America’s war on terror. Washington declared al-Qaeda as its number one enemy, a trend continued by Obama who declared ‘war on al-Qaeda’. Yet Washington
by Soraya Sepahpour-Ulrich Marcel Proust once said: “The voyage of discovery is not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes.” During the past two decades, I visited Iran on numerous occasions staying 10-14 days at a time. This time around, I stayed for 2 months and heeding Proust, I carried with me a fresh pair of eyes. I discarded both my Western lenses as well as my Iranian
by Soraya Sepahpour-Ulrich ‘All that glitters is not gold; all that shivers is not cold’ Mythology has it that Midas, the king of Phyrgia, was able to turn everything he touched into gold — ‘the Midas Touch’. According to Aristotle, the legendry figure died of starvation as a result of his greed to transmute everything from its natural substance to gold. This myth is a tragic reality when it comes
Soraya’s replies are, as always, fantastic, but what in the world is wrong with this anchor?! For the life of me I cannot imagine somebody working for RT not knowing and understanding what is really going on in the Ukraine. And yet, first Abby Martin, then Liz Wahl, now this clown?! I can fully understand that a reporter for RT could disagree with a Russian policy – but all three
by Soraya Sepahpour-Ulrich The long anticipated UN inspectors report confirmed the use of chemical weapons on August 21, 2013 in the Ghouta area of Damascus. The investigators report provided “clear and convincing evidence that surface-to-surface rockets containing the nerve agent Sarin were used”. Warmongers were quick to pounce on the use of rockets as evidence that the Assad government was responsible. The Russian Foreign Minister Sergie Lavrov was quick to
by Soraya Sepahpour-Ulrich In her extraordinarily bold and direct speech addressed to the Irish Parliament, Clare Daly (TD, Dublin North) called Obama a “war criminal” and “hypocrite of the century”. In describing the fawned reception of Obama in Ireland akin to pimping and prostituting of that nation, Ms. Daly hit the nail on the head. Sadly, America dwarfs Ireland and elsewhere in the undignified category of prostitution – the 29
By Soraya Sepahpour-Ulrich for Global ResearchFor some time now, the predominant narrative about Syria has been that the unrest has been fueled in order to weaken Iran. This prevalent account is common to neoconservatives and liberals alike. While The New York Times trumpeted Israeli-firsters Senators John McCain and Lindsey Graham message that “rebel fighters deserved to be armed and that helping them take on the Syrian government would aid Washington’s
by Soraya Sepahpour-Ulrich Media outlets are abuzz with news of the Moslem world’s rage over the release of the provocative film “Innocence of Moslems”. Pundits are quick to condemn the protests across 20 nations, and the gullible and callous citizens of the “West”, mimicking pundits who are paid to mislead and misinform, are placing the blame on the aggrieved Moslem community – they simply don’t understand how “free speech” works
Note: While I am taking a couple of weeks off, others are working hard and resisting the Empire with every ounce of energy. Today, my friend Soraya has sent me this excellent piece of the real WMD of our times: sanctions. I am most grateful to her for allowing me to publish it and for all her excellent work. The Saker Sanctions: Diplomacy’s Weapon of Mass Murder In 1945, the
Soraya Sepahpour-Ulrich On July 23, 2012, in a scathing attack against the Wagf (literally translated to endowment), the Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) opinion piece’s opening paragraph stated: “This year, as Israel observes the traditional period of national mourning for the destruction of the Holy Temple on Tisha b’Av (which starts at sundown on Saturday), it has again been revealed that the Islamic Wakf is carrying out unsupervised work at the
by Soraya Sepahpour-Ulrich On July 18, 2012, attack on an Israeli tourist bus in Bulgaria took the lives of 5 Israeli nationals, a Bulgarian, and the mysterious suicide bomber. It is reported that the suspect, a young Caucasian, had a fake Michigan driver’s license. According to Israeli Haaretz, a top Bulgarian official warned that it would be a “mistake” to blame a specific country or organization for the attack. However,
