Turning Points in Iranian-American Relationship?

Yesterday we awoke to news that a historic nuclear arms deal had been agreed to by Iran and a group of world powers, including the United States.  For the majority of my adult life the USA and Iran have been at odds. I was in college when the Shah fell and the present order was instituted. I remember during college the nightly reports on ABC with Ted Koppel updating us on America taken Hostage.  I remember as a recent college graduate the news that the hostages had been released even as Ronald Reagan was being inaugurated. Since then we have lived at odds with this ancient nation.

I am not naive to think that this deal will lead to peaceful easy feelings in the region or between the USA and Iran. I do have hopes however that this could be the beginning of a new engagement with Iran. I'm hopeful that this deal will strengthen the more moderate/progressive parties in the country, while weakening the hardliners (who oppose the deal).



I am not an expert in these things. Few of us are. If you watch the US TV news shows you will often see people talking in black and white, while the world is full of gray. The situation in Iran is quite complicated. One thing that we forget is that a major factor in the region is the struggle for leadership between two sectarian groups -- Sunni and Shia. Iraq was for many decades a Shia majority country ruled by the Sunni minority. When Saddam was overthrown and rudiments of democracy were instituted the Shias were able to get control of the government, bringing Iraq more closely into the circle of the leading Shi'ite power in the region -- Iran. Of course Sunni powers, especially Saudi Arabia were none too happy.  What we have going on in the region is a cold war struggle between Iran and Saudi Arabia with conflicts being fought by proxies in Iraq, Yemen, and Syria. It is important to remember that ISIS sees itself as the defender of the Sunni cause.

As for me I want to remain informed. I will be praying for good things. I hope that this thaw in relations between the USA and Iran will bear fruit, for Iran is one of the more stable countries in the region (even after years of sanctions). The nuclear deal is important, even historic. President Obama and Secretary Kerry have staked a lot of political capital to pursue diplomacy over saber rattling and possible war (don't think that war with Iran will be over in a few days -- after all we have been stuck in Afghanistan and Iraq for more than a decade).

What we need is clear-headed analysis. So below you can watch a 16 minute video from the Canadian Broadcast Company, featuring among its panelists my friend Saeed Khan of Wayne State University. If nothing else this is one of the few panel discussions that you can watch that actually has Muslims involved. By the way, Saeed is a Sunni Muslim not a Shi'ite.

As a final word, let me just say this:  I am not naive about the future. I don't know where this will lead. This isn't the end, but only the beginning. But, perhaps this is a turning point!

Comments

Jonas MacFarquhar said…
The biggest source of global warming gas is from lenten bean
flatulists: C assoulet, Faggioli, Boston
baked ponaire beans or Mexican frijiole. Brzezinski is obsessed with his belief
that Israel made nuclear bombs in Praetoria under his watch, which is why he
encouraged A Q Khan in Pakistan and Osirak in Iraq. Brzezinski was Obama's
professor and mentor and wants nothing else that a nuclear Iran to strong arm
Israel on behalf of the Palestinians. Chief Justice Roberts was loathe to
endanger the Catholic majority of the Supreme Court. The HIV medication bill
of all the priests and their victims
would bankrupt the Vatican. One out of four blacks, one out of five Hispanics
and one out of six Italians are high school dropouts. One out of eight blacks,
one out of ten Hispanics, and one out of twelve Italians (thank Fumento) have
HIV/AIDS. Pope Benedict said pedophilia is not an absolute evil. Pope Francis said he would punch Charlie
Hebdo, yet he tries to paint Christian Fundamentalists, those who procured
liberty in American Democracy, as akin to Islamic extremists. Vatican Osservatore Romano editor Vian said on May
18th, 2009 that Obama "is not a pro-abortion president." Carolingian
Brzezinski spawned Carter, Obama, Zia al Haq, Khomeini, and bin Laden - breaks
up superpowers via Aztlan and Kosovo as per Joel Garreau's Nine Nations. Michael Pfleger and Joe Biden prove Obama is
the Pope's boy. Obama is half a Kearney from County Offaly in Ireland. Talal
got Pontifical medal as Fatima mandates Catholic-Muslim union against Jews
(Francis Johnson, Great Sign, 1979, p. 126). Catholic Roger Taney wrote Dred
Scott decision. John Wilkes Booth, Tammany Hall and Joe McCarthy were
Catholics.Now Catholic majority Supreme Court.
Subprime construction mobsters had hookers deliver mortgages to banks.
Ellis Island Popecrawlers brought in FDR. Since Pio Nino banned voting they consider
our Constitution and laws immoral and illegitimate and think nothing of
violating them or passing legislation that undermine them. They believe that they can not be fully loyal
to their superiors if they do not go the
extra stretch and break the law intentionally. Their slovenly, anti-intellectual
work ethic produces vacuous, casuistrous blather and a tangle of hypocritical,
contradictory regulations. Their clubhouse purges provided praetorian training
for corporate misgovernance. They sided with the enemy in both World Wars and
now, too. Every American boom has been
caused by an Evangelical Revival and every major Depression by the domination
of new Catholic immigrants. Ate glis-glis but blamed plague on others, now
lettuce coli. Their bigotry most encouraged terror yet they reap most security
funds. View this life as casuistry training to survive purgatory. Rabbi
circumcises lower, Pope upper brain. Tort explosion by glib casuistry.
Hollywood Joe Kennedy had Bing Crosby proselytize. Bazelya 1992 proves
PLO-IRA-KLA links. Our enemy is the Bru666elles Sineurabia feudal Axis and the
only answer is alliance with Israel and India. Marco Polo formalized the Sineurabia Code with Magog Kublai Khan a
century after the Fourth Crusade partitioned Greece with Venice and Russia with
Poland. They killed six million Jews, a million Serbs, half a million
freemasons, a quarter million Gypsies, they guided the slaughter of Assyrians
and Armenians, and promoted the art of
genocide throughout the world, yet now they are relentless in their year to
canonize nazi pope. 9/11 was Yugo Crimean blowback: Napoleon started the
crusade against the Photius Heresy to avenge his uncle, Clinton wanted to cover
Pacelli's war crimes. They had no qualms hijacking American policy in Vietnam
or Balkans to papal ends, but when American interests opposed those of the
papacy in Iraq and Iran, they showed their true fangs (Frum, Unpatriotic
Conservatives).

Popular Posts