|
Iran official says US incapable of going to war
Edited for copyright, see linkAFX News Limited Iran official says US incapable of going to war 10.09.2005, 01:14 PM TEHRAN (AFX) - Washington is not in a position to go to war against Tehran and its pressure over the Islamic Republic's disputed nuclear programme is nothing more than 'intimidation', Iran's top nuclear negotiator said. 'There will not be a war ahead of us. The situation in America does not allow them to create new fronts,' Ali Larijani was quoted as saying by the student news agency ISNA.... (emphasis added) The mullahs are not entirely naive but there is almost certainly a great deal of ignorance and wishful thinking in their perception of the "situation in the US." All anti-American elements throughout the world are acutely aware of the political history of the Vietnam War and of the role of the media in turning popular opinion against the war and the Republic of (South) Vietnam. At the same time, they are only dimly aware that the US is leading the world into a new stage in the history of the institutional media culture, the decline and collapse brought on by the development of alternative media. There is an increasing awareness of the institutional media culture as a vested interest in and of itself. This has resulted in a massive increase in public skepticism and hostility toward that culture, and an ever-accelerating decline in its power and influence. The mullah elite's perceptions will therefore be based to a large extent on what they see in the US media. This will lead them to exaggerate the influence and power of the anti-war movement and of pacifist opinion. They rely on an ally that they do not know is in decline; the institutional media culture and its ideological client, the peace movement. As a result they over-estimate their chances of success and they are that much more likely to risk war. Posted by: Glomolet Shaper7696 2005-10-09 |
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=131768 |