A new WorldPublicOpinion.org polls finds that although Iranians continue to view the United States negatively, they strongly support steps to improve US-Iran relations including direct talks, greater access for each others' journalists, increased trade and more cultural, educational and athletic exchanges. While majorities of Iranians think the United States threatens Iran and is hostile to Islam, these numbers have diminished over the past year. A growing number (now two out of three) believe it is possible for Islam and the west to find common ground. The poll also probed Iranian views on nuclear issues. Six in ten believe that nuclear weapons are contrary to Islam, but four out of five insist Iran should have the capacity to produce nuclear fuel for energy.
The toD verdict: With the publication of the National Intelligence Estimate in late 2007, which claimed that Iran had shut its nuclear weapons program years ago, it seems many Iranians feel less threatened by a physical attack against their country and hope for a thaw in relations with the west. This change in opinion could certainly be problematic for the Iranian regime in that Ahmadinejad had masked many of the failures of his economic policies with saber-rattling anti-Americanism.
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In response to constant attacks against the highly secured Green Zone area within Baghdad, US troops on Sunday entered the labyrinth Shia slum that is Sadr City to impress upon Shia militias the strength of US and Iraqi forces. Heavy fighting there left at least 22 civilians dead and 78 injured, with five US soldiers killed. Iranian-supported groups, most prominently the Islamic Supreme Council, which Muqtada al-Sadr considers Iranian puppets, have long been blamed for the constant barrage of mortars and rocket fire against the Green Zone. Nonetheless, their accuracy in recent time has greatly improved and has been enhanced by the alleged addition of sophisticated Iranian weaponry.
However, the Mahdi Army is siphoning off a good $2 billion dollars a year in embezzled gasoline and kerosene positively affecting the purchasing power of the Mahdi militia within the international arms black market. The question however, is whether the situation would have been any different without the presence of the Iranians in the country. And by extension whether continued US blaming of ‘Iranian designs' on Iraq has any significance beyond covering up real division within Iraq and the Bush administrations role in exacerbating them. The Badr Corps fought alongside al-Maliki's 14th Division against the Mahdi Army, which consists of poor slum kids and Marsh Arabs who are anti-Iranian as much as anti-American. The Badr Corps was trained by the Iranian Revolutionary Guards and it is alleged that many Badr Corps fighters are still on the Iranian payroll.
'Warlord' critic seeks re-entry into legislature
Since being expelled from Afghanistan's parliament in May for allegedly insulting her fellow deputies, Malalai Joya has launched a bid to regain her seat, taking her battle all the way to Afghanistan's highest legal body, the Supreme Court. Joyta was expelled from the assembly on account of a critical interview she gave which took place after the passing of an amnesty law in 2007. The law prevented the state from independently prosecuting people for war crimes committed during conflicts in recent decades. Although the law could possibly bring about national reconciliation in the war torn country, it could just as well be used by alleged war criminals in the parliament to simply shield them from public prosecution. Nonetheless, the dominance of conservative elements within parliament means that the legislature would come under political pressure to ensure Joyta remains expelled for the duration of her mandate until 2010.
Bombing conspirators escape Moroccan prison
Nine people convicted of involvement in suicide bombings in Casablanca escaped from a Moroccan prison in Kenitra on 7 April. The fugitives, who tunnelled to freedom, left a message in their room saying they had suffered injustice and were escaping because they saw no other solution to their woes. They stressed that they had received no outside help for their prison break, which took place as hundreds of Islamist convicts held a one-day hunger strike in prisons across Morocco in protest at their conditions. Eight prison guards were arrested on suspicion of assisting the fugitives.
Nepal seals border with India border
The Nepalese authorities today sealed their border with India. They say the move to close the border is part of an earlier agreement between the two countries to ensure security ahead of the vote. The election is the first since 1999, and follows the decision by communist rebels to quit their armed struggle against Nepal's government in 2006. The run up to the polls have seen a spate of bombings.
Tamil Tiger rebels raise funds in US: report
The Sri Lankan rebel group, the Tamil Tigers or LTTE, has branched out into the United States, primarily the states of Maryland, New York and New Jersey which have communities of Sri Lankan expatriates and émigrés. The LTTE raise funds from the ethnic Tamil diaspora there, often through proxy agents posing as charities. The sophisticated nature of their operations suggests that the LTTE have learned a lesson from the arrests in the United States of its senior operatives.
