August 22: The beginning of the End?

[over-man]

By Greg Strange

I don’t want to alarm anyone unnecessarily, but there’s something everyone might need to know about the fast approaching date of August 22, 2006. That, by the way, is the date on which madcap Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said he would give Iran’s final answer about its nuclear development program.

I think we can all be fairly certain that the answer isn’t going to be anything along the lines of, “Okay, we thought about it long and hard and we’ve decided that, hey, the West is right after all. We got no business monkeying around with nuclear technology.”

But what’s so potentially alarming about that specific date? Well, it’s a funny thing, if by “funny,” one means apocalyptically deranged. It seems that August 22 has great Islamic significance, particularly this year. But I’ll defer to the explanation by Bernard Lewis, renowned Middle Eastern and Islamic scholar, and professor emeritus at Princeton. The following is taken from a column he wrote that appeared recently in the Wall Street Journal.

“This year, Aug. 22 corresponds, in the Islamic calendar, to the 27th day of the month of Rajab of the year 1427. This, by tradition, is the night when many Muslims commemorate the night flight of the prophet Muhammad on the winged horse Buraq, first to ‘the farthest mosque,’ usually identified with Jerusalem, and then to heaven and back (c.f., Koran XVII.1). This might well be deemed an appropriate date for the apocalyptic ending of Israel and if necessary of the world. It is far from certain that Mr. Ahmadinejad plans any such cataclysmic events precisely for Aug. 22. But it would be wise to bear the possibility in mind.”

Now, most normal, rational people will react to all this by saying something like, “But that’s just crazy!” Well, yes, of course it is, but despite what Mike Wallace would have you believe after having interviewed and become enamored with Ahmadinejad, so are the people controlling Iran. Lewis provided another example in his column of why it might be prudent to take their craziness seriously.

It’s a quote found in Iranian schoolbooks that was made by the Ayatollah Khomeini. Remember him? Yeah, he was that humorless, stern-looking, bearded guy in charge over there. Which humorless, stern-looking, bearded guy in charge? The one who pulled off the 1979 Iranian Revolution and later slapped a fatwa on Salman Rushdie’s head because of his novel, “The Satanic Verses.”

Anyway,the quote goes like this: “I am decisively announcing to the whole world that if the world-devourers [i.e., the infidel powers] wish to stand against our religion, we will stand against their whole world and will not cease until the annihilation of all them. Either we all become free, or we will go to the greater freedom which is martyrdom. Either we shake one another’s hands in joy at the victory of Islam in the world, or all of us will turn to eternal life and martyrdom. In both cases, victory and success are ours.”

It’s what you call a win-win situation, at least in the mind of your average Iranian ayatollah. Either we, the infidels, all end up dead and the Islamic loonies get to rule the world, or they, the Islamic loonies, all get martyred and go straight to heaven. I know which scenario I’m hoping for.

The problem for Israel – and perhaps for all the West – is that there is no apparent way to deter people whose actions may be guided by such lunacy. Even though it’s a lead pipe cinch that if Iran were to pull some kind of cataclysmic attack against Israel, Iran would be destroyed in the retaliatory response, that prospect may not be enough to deter the lunatics in power in Iran.

So, should we expect something that radical to happen on the 27th day of the month of Rajab of the year 1427 — er, I mean, August 22, 2006? I don’t know, but I’ve mentally marked the date on my calendar and I’m not making any special plans for that particular Tuesday.

According to the famous expert of islam Bernard Lewis, we have something to look forward to this month.
The article itself.

BY BERNARD LEWIS
Tuesday, August 8, 2006 4:30 p.m. EDT

During the Cold War, both sides possessed weapons of mass destruction, but neither side used them, deterred by what was known as MAD, mutual assured destruction. Similar constraints have no doubt prevented their use in the confrontation between India and Pakistan. In our own day a new such confrontation seems to be looming between a nuclear-armed Iran and its favorite enemies, named by the late Ayatollah Khomeini as the Great Satan and the Little Satan, i.e., the United States and Israel. Against the U.S. the bombs might be delivered by terrorists, a method having the advantage of bearing no return address. Against Israel, the target is small enough to attempt obliteration by direct bombardment.

It seems increasingly likely that the Iranians either have or very soon will have nuclear weapons at their disposal, thanks to their own researches (which began some 15 years ago), to some of their obliging neighbors, and to the ever-helpful rulers of North Korea. The language used by Iranian President Ahmadinejad would seem to indicate the reality and indeed the imminence of this threat.

Would the same constraints, the same fear of mutual assured destruction, restrain a nuclear-armed Iran from using such weapons against the U.S. or against Israel?

So according to Lewis, on August 22, when Iran is supposed to reveal it's nuclear plans, there is a possibility those plans may be revealed in the form of a nuclear bomb on isreal. Might iran have this kind of humor in store?

[Richard the Lionheart]

According to the famous expert of islam Bernard Lewis, we have something to look forward to this month.


The article itself.



So according to Lewis, on August 22, when Iran is supposed to reveal it's nuclear plans, there is a possibility those plans may be revealed in the form of a nuclear bomb on isreal. Might iran have this kind of humor in store?

No.

Iran is still at least a decade away from even aquiring the knowledge needed for constructing a bomb. That means they really can't even start building a bomb untill at least a decade from now.

[mike^_^]

interesting timing of this new fanciful doomsday scenario, just as they're beating the drums to ratchet up the war

http://youtube.com/watch?v=zAHqSfDNjaI

[over-man]

No.

Iran is still at least a decade away from even aquiring the knowledge needed for constructing a bomb. That means they really can't even start building a bomb untill at least a decade from now.

I would think the same, but Bernard Lewis isn't someone i can brush aside so easily. He knows what he's talking about.

[RusskiSoldat]

My mother has been unable to shut up about this for the past week.
I think it's ridiculous, it's in no one's interest to nuke Israel, becuase Israel most likely has tens of undeclared nukes, instant isolation from the west, and not to mention I doubt the rather moderate government of Iran would do this (Ahmadinejad is a populist actor, behind the scenes Iran is run by far more moderate men).
I think they're waiting for 22nd august so they can announce that they have nukes and praise Allah for giving them these anti infidel weapons on this most holy of days.
Anyway, that's my two cents.
This guy seems to be with the typically sensationalist press.
You know, whether you read the New York Post, a 1985 copy of the Pravda, a 2006 copy of the Pravda, or whatever the print equivalent of Al Jazeera is, and all will be equaly sensationalist.
Which is why I'm so suspicious of free press.

[over-man]

My mother has been unable to shut up about this for the past week.
I think it's ridiculous, it's in no one's interest to nuke Israel, becuase Israel most likely has tens of undeclared nukes, instant isolation from the west, and not to mention I doubt the rather moderate government of Iran would do this (Ahmadinejad is a populist actor, behind the scenes Iran is run by far more moderate men).
I think they're waiting for 22nd august so they can announce that they have nukes and praise Allah for giving them these anti infidel weapons on this most holy of days.
Anyway, that's my two cents.
This guy seems to be with the typically sensationalist press.
You know, whether you read the New York Post, a 1985 copy of the Pravda, a 2006 copy of the Pravda, or whatever the print equivalent of Al Jazeera is, and all will be equaly sensationalist.
Which is why I'm so suspicious of free press.

Actually i had a hard time finding the article online, and almost no major news sources reported on it, except for the Wall Street Journal which published it originally.
I dont see any sensationalism here. Especially from Bernard Lewis, he is one of the most respected middle east scholars, the last thing he would want to do is tarnish his reputation before he dies, he's an old man.

[AngryTitusPullo]

Actually i had a hard time finding the article online, and almost no major news sources reported on it, except for the Wall Street Journal which published it originally.
I dont see any sensationalism here. Especially from Bernard Lewis, he is one of the most respected middle east scholars, the last thing he would want to do is tarnish his reputation before he dies, he's an old man.

In the late stage of Alexander's life he's become a bit tyrannical or probably crazy isn't he ?

The article in question wasn't written by Fox, merely copied from the British Sunday Times. However, the article is misleading:

"Iran has formed battalions of suicide bombers to strike at British and American targets if the nation’s nuclear sites are attacked. According to Iranian officials, 40,000 trained suicide bombers are ready for action."

It's headline suggests attacks in Great Britain and in the United States, while the body of the article suggests some sort of action in Iraq, which is much more logical. The Fox Article's Headline is even more misleading ("Tehran Threatens West With Homicide Attacks"), using 'Homicide' in place of 'suicide', a twist in the wording which Fox News Network has decided to use.

What do you expect if a sovereign nation is attacked ? Give the US & UK forces candies ?

No Shaun, it's not. Israel would not bomb a residential area with killing innocents as their prime objective. Innocents are killed in war either by mistake, or as collateral damage whilst also eliminating the enemy. The difference between that and Hezbollah, is that they're fundamentalist nuts whose prime goal is to kill innocents.

Yet in this current conflict anyone could the the ratio between Israeli Civillian:Soldier's death between Labenon's Civillia:Soldier/Militia's death. Only those who failed their mathematics will say otherwise.

[Dirty Harry]

(Ahmadinejad is a populist actor, behind the scenes Iran is run by far more moderate men).

oh ya those ayatollah guys, seem like fantastic fellows

[Carach]

My mother has been unable to shut up about this for the past week.
I think it's ridiculous, it's in no one's interest to nuke Israel

unfortunately, you do not take into account the leaders of iran and their fanatical beliefs in islam.
you think logically, the iranian leadership does not.

[SittingBull]

RusskiSoldat. I lived in a few 3d world countries and i consider Kenya where I feel home even. And it's not that simple. There is no clear choice between poverty and stability, what you said there obviously shows you know nothing about third world politics, sorry bru.
Usually suitable leaders don't even come close to elected! Sensationalism often rules politics in Africa...

And this what this thread still is! Sensationalism!

[leeho730]

If the world ends, who would be help responsible? Iran, just starting to have "a few" nuclear warheads, or US and Russia, who have ~28000 (that's 96% pf total number of nuclear weapons as of 2005) nuclear weapons?

But over-man, when you say the "end," do you mean an apocalyptic event where most of world population is wiped out from the surface of the Earth?

[over-man]

If the world ends, who would be help responsible? Iran, just starting to have "a few" nuclear warheads, or US and Russia, who have ~28000 (that's 96% pf total number of nuclear weapons as of 2005) nuclear weapons?

But over-man, when you say the "end," do you mean an apocalyptic event where most of world population is wiped out from the surface of the Earth?

I'm talking about the christian/islamic view of the apocalypse and martyrdom, which undoubtedly effect our leader's(USA & Iran) decisions.

I don't believe in the biblical apocalypse, however i fear that our leaders might act it out.

Jesus, people are so dumb. Honestly, I believe that there is a serious mental incapacity for reason in the people who write ******** like that. Oh the calendar, oh the prophecy, I just want to put a fist in their teeth and tell them to shut the **** up. There's nothing worse than an alarmist, basing an "apocalypse" theory off of some obscure interview, and a "prophecy" in the Islamic tradition. For Christ sake, do people actually buy into this ****? Who cares if he's a near-dead, credible, Wall Street Journal reporter? Any dumbass without enough common sense to prevent them from writing an article this stomach-turningly retarded clearly isn't the kind of man i'd trust.

Good lord I hate reporters. They love to try and scare people. They ought to pull the plug on that old bastard.

And at what college do you teach near-eastern studies might i ask, einstein?

[RZZZA]

Oh man, I hope the world does come to an end on august 22nd. Then I wont have to go to college. But my luck is never that good...

[shizzernockers3]

do you actually think iran threatens the us even if it has a couple of nukes the only threat is if he gives it to terrorist which i dont think even he would do and the us and russia have thousands of nukes including icbm which would wipe his country off the face of the earth and how is it the beginning of the end he is not going to have a nuke by that date and he would have already tested it which some country would have picked up

[Felixion]

Jesus, people are so dumb. Honestly, I believe that there is a serious mental incapacity for reason in the people who write ******** like that. Oh the calendar, oh the prophecy, I just want to put a fist in their teeth and tell them to shut the **** up. There's nothing worse than an alarmist, basing an "apocalypse" theory off of some obscure interview, and a "prophecy" in the Islamic tradition. For Christ sake, do people actually buy into this ****? Who cares if he's a near-dead, credible, Wall Street Journal reporter? Any dumbass without enough common sense to prevent them from writing an article this stomach-turningly retarded clearly isn't the kind of man i'd trust.

Good lord I hate reporters. They love to try and scare people. They ought to pull the plug on that old bastard. I want to camp outside his house, wait for August 22nd to pass without incedent, and then stride in and push him over the balcony on his wheelchair. Do you know how many predictions like this have been made? Hundreds of thousands, all the time. How many come true? Almost none, and those that do are purely coincidental.

What an idiot.

[over-man]

Do you know how many predictions like this have been made? Hundreds of thousands, all the time. How many come true? Almost none, and those that do are purely coincidental.

What an idiot.

If you think i'm not skeptical about end of the world predictions just look at my sig.

[Felixion]

Over-Man, I don't need to be an academic to know the following. 1.) Iran is no where near the level of nuclear capabilities to incite any kind of wolrd war. 2.) Hundreds of thousands of religious prophecies, and historic days where scholars predicted world wide doom have come and gone without any incident. 3.) The American media enjoys exploiting fears to sell an article.

You are clearly someone who has fallen victim to this kind of journalism. Do a little reading, and you'll save yourself the time.

[over-man]

Over-Man, I don't need to be an academic to know the following. 1.) Iran is no where near the level of nuclear capabilities to incite any kind of wolrd war. 2.) Hundreds of thousands of religious prophecies, and historic days where scholars predicted world wide doom have come and gone without any incident. 3.) The American media enjoys exploiting fears to sell an article.

You are clearly someone who has fallen victim to this kind of journalism. Do a little reading, and you'll save yourself the time.

I've already said that this story completely flopped in the mainstream press, nobody is reporting it, so it's not being exploited. Why would they report it? They would lose credibility most likely.
I don't think anything is going to happen, however i'm not going to brush this guy aside as if i had written more books than him.

[shenmueguru]

Only thing we know is that we will never know, that's what I always say.

[Lord Rahl]

I don't believe that August 22nd will be the end of the world but I do believe it will be a very important date where Iran will ignore anything that the UN wants them to do. It will be a date that will start a more dangerous time for all of us.