CENTCOM
July 14, 2004

From: Mahan Abedin [mailto:mahan_abedin@hotmail.com]
Sent: Wednesday, July 14, 2004 5:30 PM
To: pao@centcom.mil
Cc: pgtf@iic.org
Subject: [PGTF] Persian Gulf (CENTCOM)

Dear Sirs,

I am a representative of the "Persian Gulf Task Force" (PGTF), an
organisation exclusively dedicated to protecting the legal and historical
name of the "Persian Gulf". The core mission of PGTF is the identification
of abusers--i.e. those organisations and corporations which insist on using
fictitious names for the important body of water that separates the Iranian
plateau from the Arabian peninsula. There are essentialy two fictiotous
names for this body of water; namely the "Arabian Gulf" and simply "the
Gulf". CENTCOM repeatedly uses the former name, and is thus showing
disregard for international law and consensus.

I last contacted CENTCOM in June 2003 and exchanged 3 e-mails with one of
your colleagues. Your colleague was initially adamant that it is the policy
of different branches of the U.S. government to use both "Persian Gulf" and
"Arabian Gulf" when referring to the aforementioned waterway. However after
I produced documentary evidence that it is the policy of the U.S. government
to refer to the "Persian Gulf" by its proper legal and historical name
(principally because the United Nations has on 2 separate occasions passed
resolutions naming the body of water "Persian Gulf") your colleague
backtracked and assured me that he would seek "advice" on the matter. Well,
I never heard from your colleague again and my subsequent e-mails to him
were ignored.

I strongly hope we can arrive at concrete conclusions this time around. PGTF
is a serious organisation; after all the protection of the legal names of
the world's waterways is a serious issue. Just imagine the crisis that would
erupt if the Pakistanis suddenly decided to call the Indian ocean, the
"Pakistani" ocean, or the Americans renamed the Gulf of Mexico, the Gulf of
Texas! This is a serious issue sir, because it involves people's history and
their cultural heritage.

The fact is that the Persian Gulf has been known as the Persian Gulf for
over 2,000 years. It was the ancient Greeks that first referred to it by
that name in the western world. In more modern times the United Nations,
alongside other important international institutions, have categorically
confirmed the legality of the name "Persian Gulf". There is, therefore,
absoloutely no scope for abuse. Anybody who tries to justify distorting the
name "Persian Gulf" is--quite frankly--engaging in shoddy subterfuge. And of
course this kind of behaviour is most inappropriate for the U.S.
military--an institution that wields more power than other enity on this
planet. Clearly the proper excercise of this power--and the prestige that
comes with it--has to be premised on respect for legality and a deep-rooted
sense of fair play.

I have already sent CENTCOM plenty of documentation regarding the legal
underpinnings of this issue. If you want examples of abuse by CENTCOM, you
can find here:

http://www.centcom.mil/aboutus/history1.htm

There are many other examples, plastered all over your sites. Clealry we
need to sort this matter out. I'd strongly appreciate if you could get back
to me as soon as practicable.

Regards

Mahan Abedin
Leesburg, Virginia
703-737-3862