Memoirs of Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani – March 24, 2003

The tone of Western propaganda has changed slightly since today, and there is no longer any of that boastful rhetoric or claims of invincibility. They now explicitly say that yesterday was the worst day of the war for the United States and Britain, and in this context the situation of the BBC is even worse, because it usually presents itself as a neutral media outlet and sometimes as a spokesperson for minorities, but in the first two or three days of the war it acted as a spokesperson for the war coalition and has now been forced to retreat, admitting that it is facing resistance on all fronts.

Iraqi missile attacks on Kuwait, which had stopped for the past 30 hours, have resumed, and the fourteenth missile has landed in Kuwait. Two American cruise missiles have fallen on Turkish territory, which is another sign of their operational inaccuracy, and the contradiction between U.S. objectives regarding the Kurds and Turkey is another problem.

Turkey has made the passage of American aircraft through its airspace conditional on allowing its military forces to enter Iraq. The Kurds say they will fight Turkish forces if they enter, as they consider them to have expansionist and anti-Kurdish aims. Interestingly, the United States is angered by the broadcast of images of American prisoners and casualties, considering it a violation of international regulations, while this war itself—and much of America’s pressure over the past two years—is a violation of international law and acts of lawlessness.

Unfortunately, the night before last, Dr. Mohsen Nourbakhsh passed away from a heart condition in Chalus. I sent my condolences. His friends are pursuing arrangements for his burial near the Martyrs of the 72nd Nation section in Behesht-e Zahra cemetery.

It was announced that American forces have reached the Karbala–Najaf road and have carried out repeated bombings in the contact lines between Iraq and the Kurds in Kifri and Chamchamal, with the aim of opening a front toward Baghdad in cooperation with Kurdish forces.

An advanced American helicopter has been seized by tribal groups and is being widely used in psychological warfare against the United States. This has been compared to the downing of two American helicopters in Mogadishu in 1993, an event that caused a major shock to the U.S. government and led to their withdrawal. Media have also compared it to the capture of one of the most advanced Iraqi helicopters during Operation Ramadan.

The Iraqi missile attack on U.S. military positions in Kuwait and the injury of more than 100 American soldiers are among today’s important news. The speech of Saddam Hussein, President of Iraq, and an interview with Major General Khalid Saleh Al-Hashemi, commander of Iraq’s 51st Division—whom the Americans had claimed had surrendered along with his deputy—are also among key reports. Taha Yassin Ramadan, the Iraqi First Deputy President, has explicitly stated that Iraq’s defense policy is to defend within cities and prevent Americans from operating in the desert.

In Khawr Abd Allah, a U.S. hospital ship has been stationed, where American helicopters continuously transfer wounded and dead soldiers. News reporting is under strict censorship. Bombing of cities, especially Basra, continues mercilessly and brutally, to compensate for the weakness of U.S. ground forces, and the number of casualties is increasing.

In Qatar, near the U.S. base, a massive explosion has occurred. In Afghanistan as well, a U.S. military helicopter was shot down, leaving six dead. U.S. fighter jets bombed a civilian bus carrying Syrian passengers inside Iraq, killing eight people and injuring many others.

Today, American and British aircraft also violated Iranian airspace several times. The British claimed that Iranian air defenses had opened fire on them, which was denied. In Iraqi Kurdistan, for the third time, the headquarters of Jamaat Islami was bombed in an operation targeting Ansar al-Islam, which the United States considers an al-Qaeda affiliate, resulting in several casualties.

A member of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan also claimed that they are trusted and supported by Iran, while Iran has declared that it has not even accepted their wounded.

Global anti-American protests are increasing and becoming more violent. Many observers believe that no country or leader in history has been subjected to as much insult and condemnation as the United States and George W. Bush, with official figures of various countries using terms such as criminal, aggressor, deceiver, tyrant, bloodthirsty, ruthless, and ignorant; “Hitler” is the most common comparison. The Vatican has officially stated that both Bush and Saddam are evil, and Jacques Chirac has said that democracy cannot be brought by cruise missiles.

Throughout the Nowruz holidays I stayed at home, suffering from a cold, headache, fever, and sore throat. Tonight Dr. Saeed Lajevardi and Dr. Saghari came and administered a penicillin injection.

Usually, every day a group of relatives came here for Eid visits.