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Syria-Lebanon-Iran
The U.S. needs a completely different approach to Iran
2013-02-03
Rooters. Submitted without editorial comment.
Negotiations with Iran, the Obama administration and policy elites across the political spectrum talk as if America is basically in control of the situation. Sanctions, we are told, are inflicting ever-rising hardship on Iran's economy. Either Tehran will surrender to U.S. demands that it stop enriching uranium or, at some point, the American military will destroy Iranian nuclear installations.

This is a dangerous delusion, grounded in persistent American illusions about Middle Eastern reality. Because of failed wars-cum-occupations in Iraq and Afghanistan; a war on terror that has turned Muslim societies ever more firmly against U.S. policy; and de facto support for open-ended Israeli occupation of Arab populations, America's position in the region is in free fall. Increasingly mobilized publics will not tolerate continuation of such policies. If, in this climate, the United States launches another war to disarm yet another Middle Eastern country of weapons of mass destruction it does not have, the blowback against American interests will be disastrous. Nonetheless, that is where our current strategy -- negotiating on terms that could not possibly interest Iran while escalating covert operations, cyber-attacks, and economic warfare against it -- leads.

For its own interests, Washington must take a fundamentally different approach. President Obama needs to realign U.S. relations with the Islamic Republic of Iran as thoroughly as President Nixon realigned relations with the People's Republic of China in the early 1970s. Simply "talking" to Iran will not accomplish this.
Posted by:Pappy

#6  Bomb bomb bomb, bomb bomb Iran ....

(Sung to the time 'Barbara Ann')
Posted by: gorb   2013-02-03 16:17  

#5  "Nevertheless, there should be no illusions. The enemies of coexistence, led by Iran and its sponsorship of Hizbullah and Hamas, are trying to do all in their power to sabotage any prospect for peace. The Teheran regime, in its declared intention to “wipe Israel off the map,” has perverted Islam into a totalitarian political manifesto merely masquerading as a religion. It is determined to perpetuate a resolvable conflict into a future of despair. Syria, as well, is undermining Israeli-Palestinian reconciliation, through its support of terrorist groups such as Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, whose operational headquarters are located in Damascus.

There is no insurmountable conflict between Israel and the Palestinians. Rather, there is a common denominator in the desire for peace, supported by all moderate states in the region that understand that the real threat to peace comes from the extremist states that support terrorism.

There are moderates in the Palestinian Authority who could be IsraelÂ’s partners for peace, who believe a future Palestinian state should be based on democracy and understanding - as opposed to the extremists, whose basic totalitarian idea is to deprive others of their rights.

While Israel will continue to defend its population against Hamas terrorism, it is ultimately the role of the moderates among the Palestinians to confront Hamas."
Israel, the Conflict and Peace: Answers to frequently asked questions

Add to this that any moderate Paleo who signed a peace deal with Israel would undoubtedly be assassinated by a "Hamas' [] advocating violence, opposing a two-state solution, and denying Israel's right to exist, as well as its direct involvement in terrorism." pretty much guarantees that there will not be a peace deal until Iran is removed from the equation.
Posted by: Mike Ramsey   2013-02-03 10:57  

#4  "America's position in the region is in free fall".

True.
Posted by: Raider   2013-02-03 10:10  

#3  
Posted by: Threater Flusoper9823   2013-02-03 05:39  

#2  ....and de facto support for open-ended Israeli occupation of Arab populations, America's position in the region is in free fall.

Can't blame the Obama administration for that one. Cham has done nearly all he could to properly distance himself in that area. [sarcasm off]
Posted by: Besoeker   2013-02-03 02:07  

#1  So Rooters is in favor of returning Saddam to power in Iraq and the Taliban to power in Afghanistan. And taking notice of terrorist attacks on the US has turned Muslim populations even more against America. Oh yes, Israel should decamp from lands that they occupy only as a direct result of Arab attacks on Israel. And the logical conclusion of all this is that the US should recognize the basic goodness of the Iranian revolutionary guards and align US policy to them.

Did I miss anything?

"It need hardly be said that the subtlest practitioners of doublethink are those who invented doublethink and know that it is a vast system of mental cheating. In our society, those who have the best knowledge of what is happening are also those who are furthest from seeing the world as it is. In general, the greater the understanding, the greater the delusion; the more intelligent, the less sane."
-- "Emmanuel Goldstein", George Orwell, 1949
Posted by: Mike Ramsey   2013-02-03 01:38  

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