The Current State of Diplomacy with
Iran
From the Tehran
embassy riots to threatening to “wipe Israel off the map”, it is easy to see
why many on the world stage feel threatened by an emerging Iranian nuclear
program. Both the US and Israeli governments suspect that Iran is building a
nuclear bomb. Diplomatic relations are further strained due to a feared
preemptive Israeli attack on Iranian nuclear facilities.
To understand
US-Iranian relations one must look much further than the 1979 hostage crisis. During
World War 2 the Allies invaded Iran to depose of a democratically elected
leader and instead replaced him with a king (the Shah). The Shah was chosen
because he had more oil-friendly policies towards the US and Britain. The Shah
was a brutal dictator who cracked down on opposition and imprisoned political
rivals. The secret police even used “enhanced interrogation” techniques CIA
operatives introduced to them. In an effort to contain Revolutionary Iran, the
Reagan administration supported the flow of intelligence, financing and even
chemical military weaponry to Saddam Hussein’s Iraqi regime during the Iran-Iraq
War.
Understanding
this, it is both hypocritical and naïve to assume that the Iranian government
is always the neighborhood bully in the Mid-East. On a more intimate note, I
personally know a number of Iranian people and have found that they are
down-to-earth, ordinary people with the same goals and aspirations as I see in
myself. They are often stereotyped abroad based on negative perceptions of
their government (something Americans can relate to). The common Iranian has
more interest in the success of their embargo-stricken economy than the success
of their military. Advocating military intervention is unwise because it proves
to the Iranian people that the stereotypical warlike nature of the United
States is true.
Stereotyping
divides people and hinders the human experience. We should realize that
countries like Iran seem hostile because of the negative experiences with the
US, not because they are inherently evil. By basing our future foreign policy
on our common goal of peace instead of stereotypes, our “enemies” will be more
likely to listen to our concerns. I do not have all the answers to the
diplomatic crisis in the Middle East. However, I do know that recognizing our
less-than –glamorous involvement in the region should be the first step to
bettering relations with a nuclear Iran.
-Drewhttp://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-16900705
supplemental links:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_support_for_Iraq_during_the_Iran%E2%80%93Iraq_war#Tanker_War_and_U.S._military_involvement
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anglo-Soviet_invasion_of_Iran
