Brown, Dale - Patrick McLanahan 05 Read Online Free PDF

simple
fact was that Iran possessed few trained individuals and workable air defense
systems for very low-altitude air threats; even if the forces on Abu Musa had
had “launch on alert” orders, they probably wouldn’t have been able to stop the
attackers.
                 “It
appears to be a moot point now, does it not, General?” Khamenei commented.
                 “My
point, Eminence, is that I should be given the tools to do my job if I am to
defend the Republic properly from attack by our enemies,” Buzhazi retorted.
“Abu Musa Island and Greater and Lesser Tumbs belong to Iran, not to Sharjah or
the so-called United Arab Emirates or the Gulf Cooperation Council or the
United Nations or the World Court. I was given the task of defending the
Republic, but my hands were tied by a President, his Cabinet, and a parliament
afraid of stirring up resentment and hatred overseas, afraid of losing
investors and popularity. What more do we surrender? Do we surrender
Kermanshahan and Kurdistan to the murderous Kurds? Do we surrender the Shatt al
Arab to the Butcher of Baghdad? Perhaps Turkmenistan would like the holy city
of Mashhad?”
                 “Enough,
General, enough,” Khamenei interrupted, with a weary tone in his voice. “Why do
you not take this matter up with President Nateq-Nouri? The task of
commander-in-chief was delegated to him by His Holiness the Imam Khomeini.”
                 “Eminence,
the Presidents inaction in defense matters is plainly obvious to everyone,”
Buzhazi said. “He has reduced the budget of the Pasdaran to less than what we
need for training and proficiency, and chosen to give it instead to the Basij
militias as a form of public welfare and to buy votes for himself. We purchase
advanced weapons, but no money is spent for spare parts or for building our own
military infrastructure—again, the money goes to public-welfare programs to
bribe factory owners and wealthy landowners who support him. Military base
construction is at a standstill because he coddles the labor unions. The
outcome was inevitable, despite all my warnings and precautions: Abu Musa
Islands defenses have been destroyed, and the base is in danger of being
retaken by American and Zionist sympathizers.”
                 Khamenei
could obviously recognize Buzhazi’s flowery exaggerations, but he paused in
thought. The conflict between the military and the civilian government had been
brewing for some time, he thought, and this early-morning meeting was perhaps
the wake-up call to action he had been anticipating—perhaps dreading. It was time
for Iran ’s clergy to take sides in this dispute: Support the government or
support the military?
                 The
Grand Ayatollah had known Ali Akbar Nateq-Nouri, the former speaker of the
Majlis-i-Shura, Iran’s Islamic Consultative Assembly, and former President
Hashemi Rafsanjani’s handpicked successor, since before the Revolution, and had
watched General Buzhazi’s meteoric rise in power, and so knew that the only
difference between them was their uniforms. Both men were intelligent,
opportunistic, single-minded, power hungry, and ruthless. Both gave lip service
to the role of Islam in the government, but neither truly believed that the
clergy should have a strong voice in day-to-day affairs—an opinion that
happened to be shared by many in Iran. “What is it you would have us do?”
                 “I
have spoken of my plans many times, Your Holiness,” Buzhazi said. “First and
foremost, Iran and its territories must be protected. This is our most
important goal, and we must do all we can to ensure it is done.” He paused,
then said, “We must prohibit all non- Arab warships from entering the Persian
Gulf. No aircraft carriers, no guided-missile cruisers, no submarines carrying
Tomahawk missiles. These are all offensive vessels, designed to wage war on
those who call the Persian Gulf