July 18, 2007:
The Iranian government is losing control of its security forces and
secret police. Islamic radicals increasingly refuse to obey orders from the
top, claiming God has commanded them to do otherwise. The Islamic conservatives have remained in
power by cultivating Islamic radicals in the security forces, men who were
willing to fight to the death to keep an un-elected Islamic conservative
government in power. But now the Islamic radicals are out of control, and
bringing them to heel will threaten the ability of the Islamic conservatives to
rule the country.
July 17, 2007: Two of the four American civilians
being held by Iran, appeared on the television commercial, apparently reading,
under duress, a statement admitting to efforts to undermine the Iranian
government.
July 15, 2007:
U.S. troops continue to find Iranian weapons in Iraq, and some of those
weapons are being used to attack American and Iraqi troops.
July 13, 2007:
The U.S. has publicly criticized China for continuing to ship items to
Iran that can be used for producing nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles.
China denies everything.
July 12, 2007:
Bahrain is furious that an Iranian newspaper claimed Bahrain belongs to
Iran. The claim is based on Iranian control of Bahrain for a few years during
the 18th century. After that incident, Bahrain, and most of the other Gulf
States, sought protection from Britain. During World War II, the U.S. joined
with Britain in offering the Arab states of the Persian Gulf protection from
Iranian aggression. Iran has always resented this, believing themselves to be
the regional superpower, and the final arbiter of who is sovereign, and who is
not.
Meanwhile, in northern Iran, troops continued to
fight Kurdish rebels, firing artillery into Iraq, where the PKK rebels have
established camps.
July 11, 2007: The government continues its
crackdown on media that do not adhere to a conservative and Islamic point of
view. No other opinions are tolerated. An Iranian news agency reported that
police has captured 14 squirrels, equipped with "spying devices," near
the Iraqi border. Later attempts to get more information failed, as police
appeared to wish the story would go away.
July 10, 2007:
A man convicted of adultery was stoned to death, according to Islamic
law. But the judge who ordered the
stoning had been told by his superiors not to allow such a punishment. Senior
officials are losing control of Islamic radicals, who often see themselves as
above the law, at least the civil law.
The recent crackdown by the religious police has encouraged the Islamic
radicals to push even harder for strict adherence to Sharia (Islamic law, based
largely on 7th century customs).