tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7163441833245663827.post4537264076643030396..comments2024-03-18T14:34:31.684-05:00Comments on Horizons: Tackling the myths about IranNancy LeTourneauhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12614317154146836694noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7163441833245663827.post-2519088916805290592012-03-05T16:22:51.986-06:002012-03-05T16:22:51.986-06:00What a wonderful compliment.
Thank you Tien Le!What a wonderful compliment.<br /><br />Thank you Tien Le!Nancy LeTourneauhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12614317154146836694noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7163441833245663827.post-30761638254314317772012-03-05T14:21:15.307-06:002012-03-05T14:21:15.307-06:00The notion of "pre-emptive war" is about...The notion of "pre-emptive war" is about as morally bankrupt as one can imagine, and I think we can say with some self-assurance that knowing powerful nations are willing to undertake attacks when they have not been molested would provoke any sane nation into arming itself against such an eventuality. Who can realy blame Iran for wanting an ultimate weapon after we invaded countries on both their Eastern and Western borders? <br /><br />Nevertheless, while you make some valid points, you ignore some disturbing signs as well. The senior IAEA expert team returned from Iran after two days of discussions with Iranian officials held on 20 and 21 February 2012. The Agency team requested access to the military site at Parchin. Iran did not grant permission for this visit to take place. Efforts were made to reach agreement on a document clarifying unresolved issues in connection with Iran's nuclear programme, particularly those relating to possible military development. Agreement was not reached on this document. As you should know, Parchin is a hardened underground site, immune to the G28 bunker busters we provided Israel along with the F15Es to carry them. Sabotage, taking the facility by force, or a precision nuclear strike are the only avenues to insure this facility is destroyed if that decision is taken and Iran surely knows this, hoping to raise the bar so high in political cost that the US will not undertake to destroy the facility.<br /><br />It seems possible at least that Iran has drawn the same conclusion North Korea's Kim Il-Sung drew in concluding that the survival of his regime against outside threat would depend on having nuclear weapons, as much to extort his neighbors as to defend himself from outside threats. The same is probably true for the Iranian Mullahs.<br /><br />The point we should be making is that with an estimated 40,000 warheads, the Soviets never used them. With an estimated 300 warheads, the Israelis have never used them. The South Africans gave theirs up. Britain, France have never used their warheads, and neither have India, Pakistan, China or the craziest of all, North Korea. This is what the CJCS meant when he called Iran a "rational actor." Not that they aren't vicious, extreme and funding what they call "liberation armies" around the mideast, but that they aren't seeking their own annihilation. It seems certain they will build nuclear weapons now, if they haven't already, but there is no reason to believe they will employ them and risk retaliation, and thus, in my mind, no valid grounds for a pre-emptive stirke.Ron Garretthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02931564801542782594noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7163441833245663827.post-25425400489684410052012-03-05T14:17:51.777-06:002012-03-05T14:17:51.777-06:00This comment has been removed by the author.Ron Garretthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02931564801542782594noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7163441833245663827.post-51157583639960940902012-03-05T12:14:23.285-06:002012-03-05T12:14:23.285-06:00Just wanted to recommend Robin Wright as another i...Just wanted to recommend Robin Wright as another informed, sane reporter writing about the middle east.<br /><br />http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robin_Wright_(author)<br /><br />I'm sure there are cspan/Charlie Rose extended interviews floating around. Well worth seeking out. I always learn more about the complexities of various countries.nellcotenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7163441833245663827.post-56170474978372303082012-03-05T11:56:16.142-06:002012-03-05T11:56:16.142-06:00I'd say you are spot on. The President and you...I'd say you are spot on. The President and your words need repeating over and over. Thank you for expressing this vital issue so eloquently.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7163441833245663827.post-66360561259661408602012-03-05T11:27:27.158-06:002012-03-05T11:27:27.158-06:00Absolutely. One of the things Thich Nhat Hanh enc...Absolutely. One of the things Thich Nhat Hanh encourages his students to do is to always ask, "am I sure?" OK, looks like war is coming. Am I sure? Well, investigate what is actually happening. You add up the facts and it helps keep things calm, mentally as well as geopolitically.Billhttp://freeandeasywandering.posterous.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7163441833245663827.post-70900679552152894862012-03-05T11:16:25.679-06:002012-03-05T11:16:25.679-06:00Smartypants, you are such a great role model for d...Smartypants, you are such a great role model for dealing with your angst in such a calm, rational fashion. You didn't give into your concerns, you informed yourself about the issue and allowed clear thinking to dictate your response. And then you shared it with us! Bless you and Thank you.Tien Lenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7163441833245663827.post-32001357248744020412012-03-05T11:00:30.144-06:002012-03-05T11:00:30.144-06:00Great piece. Most of the right's fear-mongeri...Great piece. Most of the right's fear-mongering enemies list as far as I can tell contains fairly rational actors. Of the "Axis of Evil," Iran far and away was the most rational and least threatening in a geopolitical sense. I have no love for the government, having a few fairly close friends who, having begun degrees in the US in the 1970's, were not and have not in one case been able to return to Iran because of political reasons. That said, like you point out, while Ahmadinejad makes for good TV, he really has no power. He is, literally, a tool.<br /><br />With the fundamentalist right in the US, we need on the left to acknowledge that there is a lot of very genuine religious sentiment there, and this is likely even more true when dealing with the Iranian government. The statement the President referred to was likely one of those combinations of political convenience and genuine belief. Nuclear weapons are among other things an abomination. Anyone interested in non-proliferation and, better still, disarmament, can work with that.<br /><br />Much like there's a lot of work the left can do with (some portions of) the fundamentalist right on ameliorating poverty that's not being done. Really, the President understands that and his approach has always been to get those temporary coalitions formed to get things done.Billhttp://freeandeasywandering.posterous.com/noreply@blogger.com