Diplomatic Morse Code

I'm thinking

by Micah D. Halpern

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is no exception to this rule.

Ahmadinejad's travel schedule provides particular insight into his objectives - and the primary objective of Iran's president is scoring points by countering the influence of the Western world in general and the United States in particular.

Ahmadinejad is out to garner rhetorical and political victories around the world. Ahmadinejad's visits are propelled by his desire to entice leaders and to excite their masses and his own.  

Recently, Ahmadinejad visited Nigeria. There were two reasons for his visit. The first is that Nigeria assumed the rotating chairmanship of the United Nations Security Council. Ahmadinejad went to Nigeria to forge a strong bond between Nigerian leadership and himself, between the people of Nigeria and the people and Iran. The Iranian envisions the bond between Iran and Nigeria to be a counter balance to the influence exerted by the Western world.

The second reason for this visit was because Nigeria was the site of the D- 8 Conference. The D-8 is an organization composed of the eight largest developing Muslim countries. The D stands for "developing" and the countries are Egypt, Nigeria, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Pakistan, Turkey and Iran. These countries represent nearly one billion people.  This organization fits perfectly into the vision Ahmadinejad has crafted for Iran.

The D-8 gives preferential treatment to its members in developing trade and commerce deals. Between the years 2006 and 2010 trade between D-8 members increased from $35 billion to $68 billion. That trade accounts for 3.3% of the world's trade. Over the next few years the D-8 hopes to bring that number as high as 15%

If these eight Muslim countries and their organization continue to harness their power we will see a significant shift in the sands of the world market and Iran will be closer to fulfilling its vision of unseating Western and US influence and power.

Iran's Foreign Ministry has just announced that Ahmadinejad will head a delegation of 70 people traveling to Lebanon. Different location, similar motivation.

Lebanon, like Nigeria, sits on the UN Security Council. In the last vote on adopting new sanctions against Iran, Lebanon chose to abstain.  The Lebanese representative had asked for a delay of the vote to get instructions from his government in Beirut. In the absence of a delay, which was simply a tactical move, Lebanon abstained.

By abstaining Lebanon firmly sealed the relationship between Iran and Lebanon which, until that point, had been explosive and marked by decades of distrust. Iran has always wanted to unseat the Lebanese government and insert their own Shiite puppets, a.k.a. Hezbollah. The insurrection, religious discord and political unrest that have plagued Lebanon for decades are, in no small part, due to Iran's desire to affect regime change.

The upcoming Presidential trip and a recent meeting between Nabih Berri, the Lebanese Speaker of the Parliament and Aladdin Boroujerdi, the Chairman of Iran's National Security and Foreign Policy committee, are sure signs of a serious alliance between the two Muslim nations.

The wrestling match between Iran and the U.S. continues. Right now, Iran is winning. Lebanon, a country that had been leaning against Iran and toward the West has been swayed to the other side. The D-8 is gaining momentum and momentum is power. Iran is securing the support of pivotal Arab/Muslim countries. Ahmadinejad knows how to charm Arab leadership and he knows how to woo the Muslim population.

Dot, dot dot, dash dash dash, dot dot dot. That's Morse code for SOS. The United States and the Western world are in danger.