brief - Iran 911 Case

also Appendix G. The leaders of Hizballah, a creature of Iran, make certain that theircadres lie, cover up, obfuscate – whatever is necessary – to keep Iran‘s involvementsecret. Baer, The Devil We Know, p. 75. 25The development of the cult of the suicide bomber as a religious rite of passagehas enabled Iran and its proxies to strike devastating and precise military blows againstpowerful enemies without great risk or expense to themselves. Martyrdom was a pillar ofthe Khomeini‘s Islamic revolution, but the unconventional tactic of the suicide bomber –the ultimate smart bomb – as perfected by Imad Mughniyah and Hizballah, has turnedmartyrdom into a virtual state religion and a nationalistic sacrifice for Iran itself. Baer,The Devil We Know, pp. 2, 13, 38, 72, 212-13, 218-26.Importantly, the common American conception of Iran as an irrational anddogmatic Islamo-fascist state, which Iran largely was in the 1980s, is no longer accurate.Id., pp. 71, 77, 197. Rather, the leadership of Iran is coldly rational, calculating,pragmatic, 26 and strategic. Id., pp. 26, 125, 197, 249; Ex. 3, Byman Affid. 41-43.Thus, Iran‘s ―clerical regime . . . has shown a willingness to ally with groups it considersenemies for short-term advantage.‖ Ex. 3, Byman Affid. 42. ―Iran‘s leaders are quitecapable of supporting a given group one day, then arming its opponents the next as Iran‘stactical goals shift.‖ Ex. 2, Timmerman 2nd Affid. 4. ―[I]f there [is] one watermark25 Maintaining Iran‘s plausible deniability for the acts of its terrorist proxies is critical for Iran to avoidretaliation by more potent military powers, particularly the U.S. and Israel. A conventional militaryconflict would likely be devastating to Iran. Ex. 6, Lopez-Tefft Affid. 58; Ex. 3, Byman Affid. 40,44; Ex. 7, Bergman Affid. 41; Baer, The Devil We Know, pp. 64-67. This is important not only as amatter of self-preservation but also for a religious reason: as the ―Ommol-ghora,‖ meaning ―the heartof the Islamic world,‖ Iran is to be preserved at all costs. Ex. S-2, Testimony of Witness X, February23, 2008, pp. 20-22.26 Shi‘a Islam maintains a unique aspect known as ―ijtihad,‖ or the exercise of independent judgment,which allows for non-literal interpretations of the Koran and has permitted Shi‘a Islam to adapt to the21 st century. Id., p. 196.41