Keyhan

The news of Richard Frye's passing was saddening. Iranians and students of Iranian culture and history lost an eminent scholar who had dedicated his entire life to science of history and public education. His loss is all the more cruel for all his unfinished works, although the strength of his contributions provides an unshakeable basis for Iranian studies in many areas.

I decided to go to Richard Frye's memorial service in Los Angeles because I felt it was a small homage which I could pay to a great scholar. Before going to the service I heard from a dear friend that Homa Sarshar would not be attending the event despite the fact that her name appeared on the event's program. When I entered Tehrangeles' Westwood Public Library I realized that Prof. Nikkie Keddie, who was likewise listed on the program, was also missing from the room. Given that Professor Keddie is usually very punctual and shows up early to such events, I assumed this meant she too would not attend.

The program started late as such events usually do. They started playing the well known nationalist song called: "Ey Iran". Mr. Nikbakht who was the M.C. from the "Marzeh Porgohar" organization asked everyone to stand up. I decided to remain seated because of my internationalist views. A middle-aged man while holding his hand on his breast asked me to stand up. I protested by giving him the Nazi salute. But I quickly sat back down because I was there out of respect for Mr. Frye--although I did think about leaving once all the nationalist Iranian flags were marched into the room.

Nikbakht talked at length and then read a few messages from Iranian youths. Then Mr. Khalili spoke and enumerated the reasons for the opposition to Frye's burial in Iran. Subsequently, he knocked out those arguments one by one.

Afterward, a video message was shown from Richard Frye's brother. The brother's name was not mentioned as he was a nonentity through Mr. Nikbakht's eye and it probably sufficed to mention that he was "Frye's brother". (By the way his name was William Frye.)
Bill Frye mentioned some memories from their childhood and Frye's time in the U.S. army.

In the next session the only English-speaking person left the room and the rest of the program was carried out in the sweet Persian language. Nikbakht said: there was so much pressure on us to cancel the program, which caused some of the speakers not to attend the program.

Adib Boroumand's and Davood Hermidasbavand's short messages from Iran were then read.

Some time after that, Afshin Zand spoke about the fact that Frye was not a CIA agent. He also claimed that all Iranian religions believe in forgiveness and Richard should be forgiven if he had done anything wrong and be buried in Iran. Zand also read parts of a book which he had coauthored with Frye about Cyrus the Great. They also showed part of a movie which seemingly had been aired by IRIB before. It was part of a 90 minute movie by Mahnaz Mokri. 

Ali Akbar Jafari was the next speaker, and the one whom I could not bear to listen to. Mr. Jafari, who on his website claims to have more than 10 million Zoroastrian followers in Iran, mostly talked about Zoroastrianism and his views of that religion. Mentions of Frye were few and far between, and entirely superficial. As I got up to leave the room, people thought I was standing to applaud Jafari and I left in disgust. Richard Frye deserved better than this.

The threat of a civil-ethnic-religious war in Iraq is too imminent. Self-interest and national-chauvinism is the prime motive of the governments/terrorist groups involved in the conflict, which continues to edge toward civil war. At least four terrorist groups can be identified: first and foremost the government of the United States, then the Iraqi terrorist government, then ISIS and finally the Iranian government which the least terrorist of all of them.

These governments that are willing to engage in the conflict are going to do so with absolute disregard for human lives and the genocide which may emerge in Iraq once again. The same American government which provided WMD to Saddam Hussein to kill millions of Iraqi Kurds and Iranians and then twice invaded Iraq is now offering to help the Iraqi people and government.

Each time Obama mentions the phrase “Iraqi people” in the following speech one can replace that with words such as “OIL” and “CONTROL” and … to make sense of the speech. http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2014/06/19/remarks-president-situation-iraq (Also notice that the Iraqi people are often mentioned in the same breath as “American interests,” as if the former is not worth considering on its own terms.)

The language and actions adopted by these players is an indication of their intentions. The Saudi government constantly talk about things such as “regional player” and “actors in the scenario”.

Americans who started the war have as much hostility for Shia’at as they do for the Sunnis. Saudis like to pretend ignorance to this fact.

Sheikh Yusef al-Qaradawi, chairman of the International Union of Muslim Scholars, has said that ISIS is a revolutionary force and has asked Iraqi people to help them liberate Iraq. (Ayatollah) Sistani has asked the Shia’ats to take up arms against ISIS. Unlike Sistani some other Shia’at clerics are using language which is reminiscent of historical sectarian feuds. Many elements in Tehran who called for an Iranian invasion of Iraq then are again calling for invasion.

The neocons in the U.S. regime and the ultra-right wing elements of the Iranian regime ideologically have a lot in common. They both have absolutely no regard for the cost of human lives in Iraq. Their absolute and staunch insistence on non-negotiation policy between Iran and the U.S. is an indication of their long-standing policies. Some ultra-right wing commanders of the Sepah (Revolutionary Guard) in Iran have made remarks to that effect in the past few days. The neocons’ long-standing policy of world domination by imperialist corporate capitalists also prevents them from engaging in rapprochement with Iran. And the “Revolutionary Guard” need a pseudo enemy to tell the Iranian people that the entire McFarlane Affair did not take place and they have always been the enemy of U.S. and the United States probably never sold any weapons to Iran during the 8-year-long Iran-Iraq war.
However, Iran’s Supreme Leader Khamenei himself has taken a different approach which is basically consistent with his views on the so-called “war on terror.” Khamenei as the dictator of Iran understands that he has to look into the IRI’s long-term interests. He understands that instability in the region will not serve the interests of the IRI. When Iraq invaded Kuwait, and even Syria at that time participated in the American coalition warfare to invade Iraq, Khamenei decided to declare neutrality in that war. Despite the fact that even at that time many had called Saddam the Khalid ibn al-Walid of our time and had called for a partnership. During the invasion of Iraq in 2003, Khamenei once again declared neutrality despite the fact that many wanted to join the Bush-Cheney crime family and the war.

ISIS and their regional and international supporters crave a full Iranian invasion of Iraq. The American involvement has always been accompanied with major cataclysmic catastrophes. Even in Bosnia where American troops had gone to stop the genocide, they ended up “accidentally” wiping out an entire village of Bosnians whom they had supposedly gone there to protect. Much like the US “surgical” drone strike which end up killing dozens of people who were not intended to be killed. (As if a doctor in the operating room using a surgical knife would end up killing a bunch of hospital visitors with his knife!) America has shown time and time again that they cannot be trusted even with humanitarian interventions in cases of genocide. If the Americans end up actually preventing a genocide; it’d be a miracle. (However since miracles are unreal and imaginary phenomena that is very unlikely to happen.)

With the exception of Saudi Arabia and their cronies, most of the involved elements are aware that stopping the conflict from spreading in the region would help them. If the Saudis and their cronies would look at the region with little bit of foresight and historical perspective, they would know that they are shooting themselves in the foot. Just like the Americans who funded and helped al-Qaida in Afghanistan in the 80s, the Saudi-funded ISIS will hunt them in the near future.

Then again, Iran has not invaded any other country in the past one hundred years and that is an important element in this equation. Regional and global ISIS supporters are aware of this fact, but hope for a full Iranian intervention. This might be the beginning of an endless Shia’at-Sunni conflict and Iran is the missing piece for both the Saudis and Americans.

If the Saudis and others would realize their long term interests, they’d withdraw all their direct and indirect support from ISIS. If they do not withdraw their support ISIS will become their enemies someday. In the midst of these you can see that none of these powers have any regard for the human beings who will be killed in Iraq. We the people are empowered to do something.

There exist no gods to whom this city owes more than it does to us, whom alone you forget. Not a sacrifice, not a libation is there for those who protect you! Have you decreed some mad expedition? Well! we thunder or we fall down in rain. When you chose that enemy of heaven, the Paphlagonian tanner, for a general, we knitted our brow, we caused our wrath to break out; the lightning shot forth, the thunder pealed, the moon deserted her course and the sun at once veiled his beam threatening, no longer to give you light, if Cleon became general. Nevertheless you elected him; it is said, Athens never resolves upon some fatal step but the gods turn these errors into her greatest gain. Do you wish that his election should even now be a success for you? It is a very simple thing to do; condemn this rapacious gull named Cleon for bribery and extortion, fit a wooden collar tight round his neck, and your error will be rectified and the commonweal will at once regain its old prosperity.

The most negative aspect of the event was the lies perpetuated by by the mass media about the event. Many people know that the corporate media are a primary vehicle for promoting false news perpetuated by Politicians and organizations like LAPD. But the coverage of the events is nonetheless very important and television is the primary source of the corporate capitalist discrimination and propaganda. In this case both ABC channel 7 and KTLA channel 5, grotesquely lied to the people and MSNBC covered the event only for 26 seconds. Channel 5 and 7 claimed that occupy had attacked police with bottles. They also claimed that OLA had started the riot. They claimed that LAPD had asked people  people to keep off the streets. However, they miserably failed to report the news or question the police about why, when, and how these demands were made? How was this massage communicated to Occupy Los Angeles. Was the mass media used to communicate this massage or did a couple of officers stopped by at the CCA to discuses this issue with OLA? Based on what evidence did they anticipate a riot in the streets? Why was the taxpayers money wasted by bringing a few hundred anti-riot police to the street to arrest people for chalking? Of course, these are the questions that should have been thoroughly examined before reporting the LAPD's lies on the air.