D7HW3 Annotated Bib Draft

On Google Docs any reviews and input would be appreciated.

Annotated Bibliography

“Based on the current situation in Iran; what are some of the possible outcomes, and how will they affect the American people?” This is the question I have set out to answer. The situation with Iran is a current, hot issue with new developments happening almost weekly. Staying on top of it is difficult to say the least for to understand the issue you must understand a wide variety of things such as political power in Iran, to the U.N., to Israel. The primary issues with Iran right now are particularly; it’s support of terrorist organizations in the Middle East and worldwide and it’s developing nuclear program. Opinions on what should be done vary from war to increased Iranian control in the Middle East. To understand this issue one must go into the research with a “bird’s eye view,” so to speak and that is what I’ve tried to do.

"Iranian Military Guide." globalsecurity.org. 19 Feb. 2006. 8 Oct. 2007
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I found this source using Google Search engine. It's basically a database giving a run down on the various branches of the Iranian military: Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, Army, Airforce, Navy. It also talks about the various political ministries and chains of command for the military. There is a long list of links to various articles used as sources for the database so I get the impression it's pretty legit. I also see a number of things here that I have seen with other sources. This database will be useful for me in that it should provide the meat and potatoes of my notes on the Iranian Military though I'll need to run through some backup sources to confirm some things. A few important points you see in the database. First, since the Revolution and western military embargoes the military has greatly suffered and is recovering slowly. Second, Russia and China have been making many of the recent arms deals with Iran. Three, a great deal of the bragging of Iranian military commanders to the press is likely a bunch of crap. The information on the military seems fairly unbiased in that I see a good mix of ups and downs.

Masci, David. "The United Nations and Global Security." CQ Researcher. 27 FEB 2004. 01 OCT 2007.
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I found this article using CQ researcher. It is a general article on the U.N. with a specific focus on its history, failures, today, and possible changes. This article gave me a great deal of information that I needed to help me understand the U.N.'s policies and what kind of action they might take in the future. It brought to light what the U.N. is good at and what it isn't and that brings up some interesting ideas on what changes could be made. Specifically, the U.N. has been fairly successful in building infrastructures in new countries and as a forum for international disputes. Its economic sanctions can also be effective but only when they have the support of the majority (specifically the majority of the countries on the Security Council.) The big thing that the U.N. has not been very effective with is peacekeeping in specific reference to genocide and ethnic wars. However organizations such as NATO and the United states have been fairly effective in dealing with these issues due to the fact that they take a more aggressive stance in comparison to the U.N.'s narrowly defined, and essentially useless peacekeeping missions. This is a well rounded article with reference to both sides of the argument on the U.N. which I think is brought about from the large amounts of research put into this paper.

Hoge, Warren. "Iran's President Vows to Ignore U.N. Measures." The New York Times. 26 Sep. 2007. 02 Jan. 2007.
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Fresh article written September 25th after Iranian President Mahamoud Ahmadinejad's visit to the U.N. I found this article in the online New York Times and have seen similar articles in other press institutions. Basically it outlines Ahmadinejad's adress to the U.N. It states that the Iranian government has reached an agreement with the IAEA (Internal Atomic Energy Agency) to answer questions that they had repeatedly refused to reveal to the agencies Nuclear Inspectors. Due to this President Ahmadinejad stated that the matter is "closed" and that his country will ignore any demands from the U.N. Security council. The President stated that his country see's the matter as existing in the IAEA's jurisdiction and that the Security Council is merely a pawn of the "arrogant powers." One thing I want to do after reading this article is find information on the deal Iran made with the IAEA and get the details, criticisms, and a realistic assessement of what it could accomplish.

"Communication dated 27 August 2007 from the Permanent Mission of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the Agency concerning the text of the "Understandings of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the IAEA on the Modalities of Resolution of the Outstanding Issues"." IAEA. 27 AUG 2007. 04 OCT 2007.


This is basically and outline of the agreement between the IAEA and Iran on August 27, 2007. I found this using usa.gov search engines. The agreement was made public so I was able to get a look at it. For quick understanding skip to the end at "General Understandings." Basically the agreement outlines the IAEA's and Iran's plan to resolve all of the IAEA's outstanding issues with the Iranian nuclear program. This is major as, assuming Iran follows through and that they aren't doing something behind the IAEA's back which is a reasonable suspicion, removes most of the U.N. and U.S.'s case against Iran concerning their nuclear program. If things go down as outlined in the agreement then the IAEA will no longer have any problems with Iran's nuclear programs. The IAEA is supposed to have a report to the U.N. in November on its progress.

Toosi, Nahal. "Ahmadinejad, in US for UN General Assembly, Gets Blistering Reception From Columbia President." Associated Press. 09 SEP 2007. 09 SEP 2007.
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This is hot off the presses ladies and gentlemen. The article covers Iranian President Ahmadinejad, who is in New York for the UN General Assembly, was invited to speak at Colombia University. He took alot of crap there from the university president, audience, and demonstraters outside. Some important highlights of his comments were 1. He dosen't deny the holocaust (which he reportedly has) He concedes that it occured but dosen't think it is applicable for the Palestinian situation. 2. His government has no intention to attack Israel (when elected he vowed to "wipe Israel off the map." and 3. He denies that homosexuals were publicly hanged in his country and asserts that there are no homosexuals in his country (possibility but doubtful and possible lie). On many other questions he skirted the issue such as Iranian weapon shipments to Iraq and Iranian support of terrorism. Many people fervently stated that Ahmadienjad should not have been invited to speak. These people are either war hawks, or ignorant. If you want to resolve a problem without conflict you have to talk to people, even the nasty ones. Also, before Ahmadinejad was given the floor the President of Colombia, who invited him in the first place, basically insulted him for an hour on stage. This, I believe, is extremely bad form. Don't get me wrong I don't like Ahmadinejad and think he's full of it in regards to many things but I also believe that for anyone, American or Iranian, to invite someone, saint or scum, somewhere and then verbally bash them before they even speak, especially in front of others, is extremely bad form and I would expect better from the president of such a prominent university.

Sokolski, Henry D., and Patrick Clawson. Strategic Studies Institute. Checking Iran's Nuclear Ambitions. Internet Edition. 01 JAN 2004.

This is an ebook I found on using the usa.gov site. It's essentially a report on the nuclear situation with Iran with multiple suggestions on what to do about it. This is a government publication so it's about as authentic as I'm going to find. It goes into depth on the political situation in Iran, U.S. Interaction with Iran, The Challenges of U.S. Military Action, and more. I'll need to square away some time to read through the entirety of this book and it will probably be important in my research as it covers such a wide range of factors critical to the situation in Iran. This book contains a great deal of opinions on what should be done to resolve the nuclear situation with Iran. The opinions are those of the authors, who work for SSI (an American Institution), and the opinions will likely reflect that.

Katel, Peter. "Middle East Tensions." 1627 OCT 2006 18 SEP 2007
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I found this article using CQ researcher in the library database. Reading it you can see that it is very in depth and seems well researched. Due to this both sides of the issue are presented. The author doesn’t give many of his opinions but focuses on those of others. Also I have been finding confirmation of this material in other sources. All this combines to give me the impression that this is a reliable source. This article helps answer many questions about relationships between Middle East countries as well as useful bits on the Iran situation, Iranian government, and the Iranian military. Information from this source will definitely go into my research.

Bahgat, Gawdat. "Iran and the United States: The Emerging Security Paradigm in the Middle East." Parameters 15 MAY 2007 19 SEP 2007
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This is an article from an army-sponsored journal that I found through usa.gov. While I may have my reservations about the army (haha) I still believe this to be a reliable source. Not least of all because I'm finding a lot of information in it corresponding with other sources. That is pretty much what I'm using this information for. To confirm and expand on information I've gotten from other sources. It outlines a lot of the reasons for tension between the U.S. and Iran and how we got there.

Kazemi, Farhad. "The precarious revolution: unchanging institutions and the fate of reform in Iran: Iranian politics is a system made by the clerics for the clerics, and for their supporters who possess a near monopoly on the spoils of the revolution and the country's resources." Journal of International Affairs 57.1 (Fall 2003): 81(15). Academic OneFile. Gale. Mesa Community College. 20 Sept. 2007
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A very long, but extremely useful article. I found it using Academic OneFile in the library electronic resources. This article basically goes into great detail on the history and structure of the Iranian government, with a particular focus from the 1979 revolution and up. After reading this article I have a much better understanding of the workings of the Iranian government which is a strange mix of democracy, religious based systems, and dictatorship. Took awhile to get through but definitely worth it. Just from looking at the title you can get a basic impression of the author’s view on the Iranian Government but read with an open mind you find both good and bad aspects with Iran’s policies.

"Guards Have "Length And Breadth" of Gulf Covered: Iranian Commander." Agence France Press. 15 AUG 2007. 20 SEP 2007.
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This is a fairly short article that I found at DefenseNews.com. The website seems pretty reliable and it's a pretty recent article but definitely must be taken with a grain of salt as the article is basically the commanding general for the Iranian Revolutionary Guard boasting of his military's capabilities. Some of his assertions seem possible and others seem very unlikely but I'll primarily be using this information to know where to check up on the Iranian Military with other sources. It is, essentially, an outline of some things I need to investigate.

In conclusion, the broad kind of research I’ve been doing on this subject has greatly increased by knowledge on a road variety of related subjects. As I become more knowledgeable I find it easier to draw conclusions between different areas as well as being able to look at a new source and tell if it has anything useful in it. Some of the things I’ve found have surprised me. For instance, I was previously under the mistaken impression that the conflict between Jews and Arabs was purely racially or religiously based, which is not true. The Arabs, specifically the Palestinians have legitimate cases against Israel which is not to say that Israel doesn’t have any of it’s own. One of the most difficult things here has been finding legitimate sources that give me information on the subject I’m looking for.