Time for Persian Détente?It seems obvious that our strategy in the Middle East is flawed, but do we need a different point of reference? I have an Iranian friend who is quick to point out that he is Persian, not Arab. And there’s a large portion of Iran that is not Muslim. Does this population represent a foundation from which we might build a Persian détente? Unfortunately, religious fundamentalists dominate the political processes and their desired theocracy has no interest in détente – and they have a similar problem in Iran. Nixon reversed the cold war and set the stage for the downfall of Soviet communism. We need to see a reversal of the current downhill spiral of antagonism. A few first steps might be an honest acknowledgment of the mistakes of the past going back to the British delineations, through the installation of the Shah, and the manipulations of the Iran / Iraq antagonisms we fueled through the 80’s. I’m not sure how we establish a productive relationship with Iran, but the first step has to be a shift in attitudes here at home. A condescending dismissal of all things Iranian as “evil” reflects more about our morality than theirs. Michael Previous: Nattering Nabobs of Republicanism. -- Next: Frist using DoD bill to push gambling ban? Comment from Paul Davis: According to the CIA Factbook, Iran is 51% Persian, and only 3% Arab. The “large” portion that is not Muslim is only 2% of the population. The overwhelming majority of the Persians are Shi’a Muslim. One thing that could help establish a productive relationship would be to re-open diplomacy. Next would be to re-open the embassy. We currently have closed all diplomatic connections with the country. Its kind of hard to establish a relationship if we’re not talking. (of course its obvious the ‘evil’ talk doesn’t help anything) We should also talk more about the average Joe. I’m sure the average Joe over there has little difference from the one here. They just want to go to work and take care of their families and only care about politics as far as it affects their own lives. But, ya know, branding “the other side” as evil is the first step to war, as every war in history has shown. You don’t send troops into battle to kill people defending their homes, you send them into battle to fight “evil”. CIA Factbook ref on Iran: Posted by Paul Davis Sep 13, 05:57 AM # Comment from Michael Smith: Thanks Paul. You’re right on the portion of Muslims. I’ll remember the CIA Factbook next time. I guess the distinction we should remember is that Muslims come in all styles; just like Ireland is 88% Catholic, or even the US is 78% Christian, we can’t assume that the Pope, or Jerry Falwell, or Pat Robertson speaks for anyone but a limited segment. We need to build relationships with the moderates in Iran and help them to shun a fundamentalist theocracy. Posted by Michael Smith Sep 13, 03:31 PM # |
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