What in the hell is the matter with most everyone… when it
comes to Iran? I absolutely do not understand the obsession we seem to have
with Iran and the claim that Iran is somehow a mortal threat, not only to the
U.S. but, indeed, to the world. I
believe this is not only ridiculous but also stupid almost beyond belief.
Today, while perusing the news on the internet, I saw some
Congressman, maybe even a Senator (I cannot remember) claim, without even the
mention of a disclaimer, that we have to keep Iran from developing a nuclear
weapon. He said this as if it were a known fact that everyone knew for certain
that Iran was in the process of actually developing such a weapon. I am
obviously not privy to secret intelligence information about what Iran is or is
not doing when it comes to such matters, but
the little I do know from the information I do have is that there is no
evidence Iran is in fact even trying to develop such a weapon. They deny it,
our own intelligence people seem to agree, and it seems to me there is more
reason to believe they are not than to believe they are, and yet this assumption
(accusation) seems to persist no matter what.
Chris Matthews, who talks incessantly when he should be
listening, said something to the effect,
“I’m ready to go to war with Iran” (presumably if it is necessary). What
conceivable reason would we go to war with Iran if it were not for the
assumption they are trying to develop a nuclear bomb, which as far as I know
they are not? This Iranian obsession seems to have taken over the country even
though there seems to be no solid evidence that Iran is doing anything other
than what they are legally entitled to do when it comes to enriching uranium. Furthermore,
they have repeatedly tried to discuss this problem with the U.S. only to be
rudely rebuffed by the Bush/Cheney administration and now by the Obama
administration. It seems they are not be to allowed to do anything unless they
agree to our conditions even before talks begin.
Now they are subjected to crippling sanctions designed to
make them do the bidding of the West. The sanctions work terrible hardships on
the Iranian people, especially women and children, but do little to bring about
the changes we seem to be constantly demanding. It is perfect y obvious such
sanctions do not work very well, witness our sanctions on Cuba and formerly on
Iraq (where, according to one previous Secretary of State, the death of 500,000
Iraqi children was “worth it”). At first I thought the sanctions were put in
place to placate the Israelis and keep us from an all-out war, but I gather
they have some other reason making them, too, “worth it.” I think they are
disgusting, disgraceful, and ultimately will have made the situation much worse
than it ever needed to be.
I hear this constant refrain that Iran is a terrorist state,
supporting terrorists and meddling in Iraq and so on. Yet every time I see them
accused of providing arms or something in Iraq, two or three days later there
is a retraction that denies there is any such evidence. And while it is
doubtless true that Iran helps Hezbollah and Hamas, those organizations are
terrorist organizations only in the eyes of the West that supports the criminal
state of Israel. It appears that Iran, a large and heavily populated country in
the Middle East, is not supposed to have any national interests there (at least those that conflict with the interests
of the U.S. and others far outside the region).
Recently I saw a headline claiming that Iran is a danger to
the U.S. because they have been developing ties with South American countries.
Apparently they are not only to be forbidden to have any interests in the
Middle East, they are also to be denied interests anywhere else in the world.
Iran is a proud country with a very long history of civilization (long before
we gave up dressing in the skins of animals). We insist on treating them as
just another inferior nation that should of course do our bidding without
question. This has not, and will not work. It is a short-sighted and stupid
policy that has alienated Iran further and further from the U.S. They have
tried to use diplomacy in their relations with us and we have rebuffed them
repeatedly. It is obvious the issue is not really over Iran having a nuclear
weapon (which they are probably not developing and that would be of no use to
them whatsoever), but, rather, over who is to retain hegemony in the Middle
East. I guess this absurd obsession with Iran keeps attention away from the
real source of trouble in the area – Israel.
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