President Ahmadinejad and the Irani (Iranian) leaders continue to be the best recruiters for Central Command as we embark on our partnership plans. They've caused enormous worry and concern by those on the western side of the Gulf," said Petraeus, the head of US Central Command.
Monday, December 7, 2009
General Petraeus: Ahmadinejad is best US recruiter in [PERSIAN] Gulf
General David Petraeus said on Fox News:
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2 comments:
I got a chuckle out of that, too, Naj.
But really, it doesn't quite measure up to the facts on the ground, with the possible exception of KSA, but this is due more to regional competition than genuine concern. Also, the Gulf states continue to have close ties with Tehran, especially Dubai. Yes, they've been buying defense items, but this in itself shouldn't be considered extraordinary. Likewise, farther out, Jordan has been urging the West to accommodate Iran in its N dispute (rather than war) and even Egypt stuck up for Iran over the latest IAEA resolution.
So Petraeus on Fox (of all places) is engaging in outright political grandstanding. Some have suggested he's a more adept version of MacArthur in 1951, which is considered alarming to certain left-leaning defense circles.
Off-topic: Naj: do you know roughly how much it cost to attend Tehran University as an undergraduate for 1 year (tuition/fees/etc.)? I'm curious.
-Pirouz
Pirouz,
Arab states are run by tradesmen! They milk all cows: the Iranian ones AND teh American ones.
Tehran University is tuition-free; but you have to be in top percentile of Concours competitors to get in. Once you do, all is free and you will receive some allowance for your studies too (don't know how much it is now).
Studying in these public universities is more prestigious, but it might bind you to serve the country after graduation--if you are in medicine, for instance.
However, recently a lot of "free" universities have been popping in Iran, and some of the public universities allow rich kids to pay over $1000 per semester to do post-graduate studies WITHOUT going through national competition. This, as far as I know, is only at graduate levels.
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