From What Really Happened via disinter:

Confused? Having difficulty telling the good guys from the bad guys? Use this handy guide to differences between Terrorists and the U.S. Government:

TERRORISTS: Supposed leader is the spoiled son of a powerful politician, from extremely wealthy oil family
US GOVERNMENT: Supposed leader is the spoiled son of a powerful politician, from extremely wealthy oil family

TERRORISTS: Leader has declared a holy war (‘Jihad’) against his ‘enemies’; believes any nation not with him is against him; believes god is on his side, and that any means are justified.
US GOVERNMENT: Leader has declared a holy war (‘Crusade’) against his ‘enemies’; believes any nation not with him is against him; believes god is on his side, and that any means are justified.

TERRORISTS: Supported by extreme fundamentalist religious leaders who preach hatred, intolerance, subjugation of women, and persecution of non-believers
US GOVERNMENT: Supported by extreme fundamentalist religious leaders who preach hatred, intolerance, subjugation of women, and persecution of non-believers

TERRORISTS: Leadership was not elected by a majority of the people in a free and fair democratic election*
US GOVERNMENT: Leadership was not elected by a majority of the people in a free and fair democratic election*

TERRORISTS: Kills thousands of innocent civilians, some of them children, in cold blooded bombings
US GOVERNMENT: Kills thousands of innocent civilians, some of them children, in cold blooded bombings

TERRORISTS: Operates through clandestine organization (al Qaeda) with agents in many countries; uses bombing, assassination, other terrorist tactics
US GOVERNMENT: Operates through clandestine organization (CIA) with agents in many countries; uses bombing, assassination, other terrorist tactics

TERRORISTS: Supposed leader has extensive financial ties to Supposed leader of US GOVERNMENT
US GOVERNMENT: Supposed leader has extensive financial ties to Supposed leader of TERRORIST

TERRORISTS: Supposed leader invested heavily in US bio-chemical companies
US GOVERNMENT: Supposed leader invested heavily in US bio-chemical companies

TERRORISTS: Using war as pretext to clamp down on dissent and undermine civil liberties
US GOVERNMENT: Using war as pretext to clamp down on dissent and undermine civil liberties

* And that’s right, dear, if they were properly elected, everything would be just fine. Go back to sleep now.

Shiraz bombers admit US, Zionist links

24 May 2008

Iran’s Prosecutor General has said perpetrators of the deadly blast in the Iranian city of Shiraz have confessed to links to the US and Israel.

“The secular agents behind the brutal and terrorist bombing of a religious and cultural center in Shiraz have confessed to having links to the world arrogance, in particular the United States and the Zionist regime,” IRNA quoted Qorbanali Dorri-Najafabadi as saying.

He added that countries which claim to be defending human rights have no qualms about threatening the Iranian nation with bombs and violence.

“Apparently, the group has also carried out one or two minor operations in other parts of the country. The Islamic world is currently aware of the US plots against Muslims,” he said.

The US and other elements of the world arrogance are enemies of the Holy Qur’an and independence of Islamic countries, he noted, stressing that Muslims should remain vigilant against the deceitful acts of the US and its Zionist ally.

Najafabadi noted that 10 bombers involved in the event and other agents cooperating with the group outside Fars Province have been arrested so far and investigations are underway to identify and arrest other members of the group.

The explosion on April 12 killed 13 people and injured more than 200 in a religious and cultural center in the southern Iranian city of Shiraz.

From the Tehran Times:

Iran busts CIA terror network

Tehran Times Political Desk, May 18, 2008

TEHRAN – The Intelligence Ministry on Saturday released details of the detection and dismantling of a terrorist network affiliated to the United States.

In a coordinated operation on May 7, Iranian intelligence agents arrested the terrorist network’s members, who were identified in Fars, Khuzestan, Gilan, West Azerbaijan, and Tehran provinces, the Intelligence Ministry announcement said.

The group’s plans were devised in the U.S., according to the announcement, which added that they had planned to carry out a number of acts such as bombing scientific, educational, and religious centers, shooting people, and making public places in various cities insecure.

One of the terrorists was killed in the operation, but the rest are in detention, the Intelligence Ministry said, adding that the group’s main objective was to create fear among the people.

The United States Central Intelligence Agency comprehensively supported the terrorist group by arming it, training its members, and sponsoring its inhumane activities in Iran, the Intelligence Ministry stated.

The terrorists had maps, films, pictures, and sketches of important and sensitive sites in various cities in their possession when they were arrested.

They also had a large number of weapons and ammunition and a great deal of highly explosive chemicals and cyanide.

The blast at a religious center in Shiraz last month was carried out by this group, and it also had plans to carry out similar attacks on the Tehran International Book Fair, the Russian Consulate in Gilan Province, oil pipelines in southern Iran, and other targets, the communiqué stated.

Thirteen people were killed and over 190 others wounded in a bombing carried out on April 12 at the Rahpuyan-e Vessal religious center, which is part of the Seyyed-ul-Shohada Mosque complex, located in a residential area of Shiraz.

Per Bylund has the day’s memorial to those who died in that long-ago bombing, and to those convicted and executed by a state eager to use any means to shore up its power, with the assistance of a gullible public:

Today is a day to remember that no one is safe from the State, that it can use its system of “justice” in whatever way it pleases and put its enemies to death for crimes they did not commit. It is a day to remember that those who hold and claim power have no interest in other people unless they are loyal slaves; the ruling class does not hesitate to use brute, deadly force for the sake of keeping their system of power intact.