Word: macleods
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...million reward offered by a private foundation, and that it won't carry out the death sentence. "A fatwa is simply a religious edict, but this one's power came from the fact that it had been endorsed by a government," says TIME Middle East bureau chief Scott MacLeod. "Britain would not have restored diplomatic relations severed over the Rushdie issue unless they were convinced Iran was serious." So, while Rushdie may still be a target for a fringe group or lone gunmen, he no longer faces an official threat...
...This moves signifies Iran's determination to end its pariah status and restore normal relations with the world," says MacLeod. Will the U.S. be impressed? "The most important factor in the British decision was the political will on both sides to find a way to restore relations," says MacLeod. "Right now, that's still lacking in both Washington and Tehran...
...countries. Tensions are running high since 11 Iranian diplomats disappeared after the ruling Taliban seized an opposition stronghold. Tehran also has a longstanding loyalty to the beleaguered anti-Taliban opposition. "Iran and the Taliban are deeply suspicious of each other," says TIME Middle East bureau chief Scott MacLeod. Iran's Shiite Muslim tradition is at odds with the Taliban's extreme Sunni interpretation. "The Iranians view the Taliban as medieval, as giving Islam a bad name," says MacLeod. The Taliban, for its part, is reported to have massacred Shiites after recently seizing opposition strongholds...
...While that may sound like a recipe for a bruising intra-Islamic war, MacLeod explains that "there's no appetite in Iran for military adventures, not even among hard-liners -- the country still feels the bitter wounds of its eight-year war against Iraq." On the other hand, military maneuvers may be the only way to send a message to a country in which your diplomats aren't safe...
Sancton and MacLeod are authors of Death of a Princess: The Investigation (St. Martin's Press...