I am amused by articles which insist that the Iranian government's position on the nuclear issue is merely the result of "internal disputes", that the nuclear issue is trumped up by Ahmadinejad (who actually isn't even in charge of the program) as a way to distract opponents, etc. thus ignoring the fact that Iran's nuclear program has massive popular support across the board. Surely there are internal disputes in Iran but they pale in comparison to the Right-Left divisions in the US and the resultant pressure on Obama's administration in performing basic functions such as deciding whom to appoint to top level policy positions.
If you want just a taste of the vehemence and McCarthy-ite fascistic nature of the Right in the US especially when it comes to Israel policy, just look at this sites such as MuzzleWatch.com or, more broady, my favorite site DiscovertheNetworks.org -- and the various dossiers they have on individuals and organizations on their enemies list (I aspire to make the list one day): feminists, environmentalists, civil rights proponents, "fifth columnists" etc.
Their "individuals" list includes former UN head Kofi Anan, French philosopher Jean Baudrillard, musician and activist Harry Belafonte, Cher, international law professor Richard Falk -- along with Kim Il Jong, Yasser Arafat, Barak Obama, the founders of Hamas and Hezbollah, and of course anyone who has ever remotely expressed any anti-Zionist sympathies of has criticized Israel (Juan Cole, Sam Husseini etc) and even officials of Human Rights Watch.
This is the sort of kookiness that is shaping US foreign policy, folks. And you thought the apocalyptic Reverend Hagee and his AIPAC backing was a thing of the past, eh? No, sorry, they're just the tip of the lunatic iceberg.
The issue of dealing with Iran is now part of the ground-zero in this long-standing and highly polarized debate betwen the left and right in the US, and is exaccerbated by the fact that it also involves another hot topic: the US support for Israel. This means that the issue is highly polarized and driven by agendas that fall well outside of anything that actually has to do with Iran. And, it may only be "resolved" when the underlying debates/conflicts between the right and left in the US are resolved -- which is never.
This is unfortunate, of course. But for all pratical matters, here's the bottom line: You can't deal with these people. Even if Obama may be personally well-intended, he's a trapped player in the same systematic conflict that Bush was a part of. You can't negotiate with them, you can't expect them to have rational policies, you can't expect them to stick to commitments. The Iranians would be fools to do so.
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