2006年VOA标准英语-Iran's President Uses Nationalism to Rally

（单词翻译）

By Bill Rodgers
Washington, DC
02 March 2006
 
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Iran's disputed nuclear program is at the center of a brewing¹ international crisis that some say has been aggravated² by the words and actions of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.  Some analysts⁴ say the Iranian leader is hoping to use the current standoff with the West over the nuclear issue to rally nationalist support behind his government.

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Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
  

It was the long and bloody⁵ war between Iran and Iraq in the 1980s that seems to have profoundly influenced Mr. Ahmadinejad, the former revolutionary guard who last year became Iran's president.  In his presidential campaign, Mr. Ahmadinejad cited the sacrifices of those killed in the conflict and played to the nostalgia⁶ felt by some for the religious fervor⁷ that prevailed during the war and in the early years of the country's Islamic revolution.   

Since becoming president, Mr. Ahmadinejad has emphasized nationalism to rally support for his government, according to Patrick Clawson of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. "Ahmadinejad has been very clever as a politician in realizing that the way to rekindle⁸ fervor among ordinary Iranians is by appealing to their proud nationalist sentiments -- that you can't really rely on Islam or for that matter the Islamic revolution to get ordinary Iranians excited.  But nationalism, that works well."

In recent weeks, he has led rallies to protest the negative Danish cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad.  He also has frequently called for Israel's destruction while reaching out to Hamas as it tries to form a new Palestinian government. 

But it is Iran's disputed nuclear program that appears to have given him the most nationalistic traction⁹. Iran says its program is for civilian¹⁰ purposes and claims the right to have full control over the uranium enrichment process.  However, the United States and other Western nations worry that Tehran wants to use the enrichment process to make nuclear weapons.

The International Atomic Energy Agency issued a report this week saying it could not determine if Iran is trying to develop nuclear weapons because the country is still not fully¹¹ cooperating with its probe. 

Adam Ereli (file photo)   
  
State Department spokesman Adam Ereli says the agency's report shows why the United States and other countries are concerned. "Contrary to commitments made to the Europeans and others, and contrary to its treaty obligations, Iran is engaged in enrichment activity on its territory and that is of serious concern to all of us and frankly¹², that is why Iran finds itself in the mess that it is in."

But in the streets of Tehran there was some support for Mr. Ahmadinejad's stance.  Following the news in early February that the International Atomic Energy Agency decided¹³ to report Iran to the UN Security Council for possible action, some Iranians reacted defiantly¹⁴. 

 
Iranian student 
  
One student reacted by saying, "Iran, I think, is independent and during this 20 years after the Revolution it's proven that we can be self-sufficient from other countries so there's nothing wrong with it."

Analyst³ Clawson says the Iranian leader's tactic¹⁵ may pay off.  "If Iran can continue with its nuclear program, largely unrestricted, and Iran does not face serious repercussions¹⁶ from the outside world, then Ahmadinejad's confrontational¹⁷ policies will have been seen to be successful."

Gareth Evans  
  
Former Australian Foreign Minister Gareth Evans, of the non-governmental International Crisis Group, is among some calling for a new strategy.  He says Washington should offer security guarantees and other incentives¹⁸ to Iran in return for strict and intrusive¹⁹ inspections²⁰ of its nuclear facilities and other concessions²¹. He warns if all else fails, there could be war.

"The remaining alternative is military action, preventive military action of the kind that generated the Iraq war in 2003.  And here we argue that this is just really completely unthinkable."

Meanwhile, an Iranian delegation²² arrived for talks in Moscow this week as Russia made a last attempt to wring²³ concessions from Iran on the uranium enrichment issue. 

The next step could come soon when the UN Security Council meets to discuss Iran's case.