Iran poised to strike?Observers report Ahmadinejad sending secret signals of intent
By Stan Goodenough
May 14, 2006
Indicators observed by independent Iran watchers during the past week are raising the question that nuclear-seeking Iran is not merely playing a serious game of brinkmanship, but is actually preparing to strike at Israel, European and US interests.
Headlined "Iran declares war," a May 11 editorial in the New York Sun expressed the belief that a recent letter written by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, which had been widely interpreted as a peaceful gesture, "is in fact a declaration of war."
According to the Sun, a coded message is contained in the closing section of the eight-page letter. While the rest of the message had been translated into English, the salutation in had not. It reads "Vasalam Ala Man Ataba'al hoda" and means "Peace only unto those who follow the true path."
Says the paper:
"It is a phrase with historical significance in Islam, for, according to Islamic tradition, in year six of the Hejira - the late 620s - the prophet Mohammad sent letters to the Byzantine emperor and the Sassanid emperor telling them to convert to the true faith of Islam or be conquered. The letters included the same phrase that President Ahmadinejad used to conclude his letter to Mr. Bush."
Concluded the Sun:
"For Mohammad, the letters were a prelude to a Muslim offensive, a war launched for the purpose of imposing Islamic rule over infidels."
Two days earlier, the CBN network's "700 Club" ran a special feature based on information just brought back from Iran by investigative reporter George Thomas.
Footage that surprisingly made it out of the Islamic Republic showed Ahmadinejad exhorting his countrymen, and specifically his troops, to prepare for martyrdom and their entry into paradise.
In an exclusive interview, an Iranian general told CBN his country planned to "teach the American Army a lesson they will never forget," which will eclipse anything they experienced in Afghanistan or Iraq.
Thomas also reported that 52,000 people are believed to have joined a new Iranian organization called the "Lovers of Martyrdom" whose goal is to place a "suicide" bomber unit into every division of the Iranian army.
Its men making maniacal statements, its women covered in heavy black cloth as they swear their allegiance to Allah and emphasize their eagerness to die in his service, these Muslim elite killers make Hitler's SS look tame.
Following his filed report, Thomas showed his viewers a picture of Ahmadinejad taken a week ago, in which the president was seen to be sporting a black and white keffiyeh around his neck.
Said Thomas:
The would-be suicide bombers "wear this scarf that is similar to the one worn by the Palestine Liberation Organization."
"When they wear this scarf they told me it means: I am ready, I am purified, I am militarily trained, I am Islamically pure to commit a suicide attack right nowÂ…
"What is interesting is that this week, President Ahmadinjad was wearing a similar scarf in a similar way."
The Iranian leader seemed to be sending his own message, that he is ready and willing to be a martyr for Allah.
Ahmadinejad has almost daily made threats against Israel while telling the world he will not allow it to impede his efforts to obtain nuclear power.
In a speech last month, the Iranian demagogue declared:
"The Zionist regime of Israel is like a rotten, dried tree that will be annihilated by one storm."
CBN President Pat Robertson asked Thomas to explain about the concept of the Mahdi or 12th Imam the Islamic world has been and is looking for.
According to Thomas:
"Ahmadinejad believes that he has been chosen – he has a divine mission – to usher in the 12th Imam – the Mahdi.
"He believes that in order for this Mahdi to return … the entire world should be filled with chaos; there should be a battle between good and evil – in his mind between the east and the west."
It was into this situation of universal chaos that the Mahdi would come to establish peace and justice in the earth.
Thomas said rumors in Iran were that Ahmadinejad has ordered the city of Tehran to prepare a route for the Mahdi to take upon his return.
"We were at this parade, and in all his statements he tells his people: 'Prepare in your hearts for the return of the Mahdi...' Speaking to his troops he actually said: 'You are the men who have been commissioned to usher in the return of the Mahdi.'"
Responding, Robertson described Ahmadinejad as "nuts Â… out of his mind."
But Thomas cautioned that the Iranian leader was actually "a deeply religious man" described by many in his country as "the most fanatical leader they have ever had."
"The thing that makes this very dangerous is that you have AhmadinejadÂ’s nuclear ambitions coupled with his interest in wiping Israel off the face of the earth; and then he has this religious, ideological bent."
Last week, US President George W. Bush told the German newspaper Bild the United States and Europe were taking Ahmadinejad's threats "very seriously."
Bizarrely, Israeli media were reporting at the weekend the words of a Tel Aviv history professor who apparently said that the death of a million Jews in an Iranian nuclear strike would not mark the end of Israel.
Quoted in Ynetnews, Aviad Kleinberg said that although it was unclear "whether Israel can withstand the death of a million people in an Iranian nuclear attack," such a strike would nonetheless "not be the end of the Jewish State."
The academic warned world leaders not to simply write Ahmadinejad off as a psychopath:
"I'm not at all certain that he's insane. IÂ’m afraid he's playing a much more complex game; and this is a dangerous game. One cannot simply assume that Ahmadinejad is bluffing. In certain instances you don't have a choice but to assume that the other side is not bluffing."
