On Sept. 29 the Iranian parliament voted to label the U.S. Army and the CIA as terrorist organizations. This is considered by many to be simply a reactionary move against the U.S. Senate for labeling the Iranian Revolutionary Guard a terrorist group in mid-August.Paul Gimigliano, a CIA spokesman, said to CNN News, “There are some things that don’t even deserve comment; This is one.”
The Iranian Parliament cited a laundry list of grievances as the justifying factors in their case against the United States: the war in Iraq; U.S. invasions of Vietnam, Korea and the Balkan Islands; U.S. support of Israel, Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo Bay prisons; and the use of nuclear weapons on Japan during World War II.
The Iranian parliament followed the current, accepted U.N. definition of terrorism, written by terrorism expert Alex P. Schmid. It states: “Terrorism is an anxiety-inspiring method of repeated violent action, employed by (semi-) clandestine individual, group or state actors, for idiosyncratic, criminal or political reasons, whereby – in contrast to assassination – the direct targets of violence are not the main targets. The immediate human victims of violence are generally chosen randomly (targets of opportunity) or selectively (representative or symbolic targets) from a target population, and serve as message generators.”
The United States “trained terrorists, supported terrorism, and they themselves are terrorists,” the parliament said, according to the IRNA, Iran’s state-run news agency.
“If you look at the United States’ track record in Central America, the Middle East and around the globe, they have caused their share of terror in other countries through military actions” said senior and political science major Adam Pearman. “From overthrowing regimes to supporting rebel groups, we’ve done it all.”
Others feel that there is less validity to Iran’s statement and that it is in reaction to the United States’ recent diplomatic aggression towards Iran.
“This is simply all part of the political drumbeating and chest thumping that goes on in the world of politics,” said Robert Duncan, assistant professor of political science and former member of the CIA. “We’ve been called worse and we’ve done worse,”
The conflict between the United States and Iran has been frequent fodder for many of U.S. news agencies recently. With the escalating hostilities and Iran’s desire for nuclear technology, many fear that a new front will open up in the war in the Middle East. With recent advances with the situation in North Korea, many are hopeful for peace with Iran.
“I believe Iran has a very strong secular base and a segment of the population is fairly moderate and desire a closer connection to the West,” said Duncan. “Economic incentives are the path to peace, the United States needs to tone down its hegemonic way and militaristic sword rattling as it solves nothing.”
The animosity between the U.S. government and Iran all stems from the Islamic revolution of 1979 and the United State’s support of Israel.
“It’s sad that relations have dwindled down to this point,” said junior Dan Jiminez, a political science major. “The people of both nations have so much in common but at the same time both governments are in a pissing contest with one another.