Maria
2007-02-25 13:04:22 UTC
Hands up then.
Me - no. For these reasons -
1) Ahmedinejad does not represent the people of Iran, but also does
not have the all-encompassing power that Saddam had, or the support of
the majority of the people of Iran, or the support of many of the
other bodies in Iran which make up the decision-making power base.
Iran is not Iraq or Saudi Arabia (but it could be...).
2) The people of Iran want to modernise, but also rather than just
sitting there are whining about it, are actually doing it - every day
they openly defy the religious dictats of the state. This is to be
encouraged and supported, not placed under threat by the growth of
religious activists driven on by American threats. A much-needed
revolution is already taking place, but the West seems to be putting
its consideration on only one aspect of Iranian society - its' batty
'leader'.
3) Iran has a genuine energy crisis, in that it has a massively
increasing demand for refined oil, but very poor and outdated refining
capability. Given Iran's huge oil deposits, it would to me only make
sense for us in the West to stop carping on about nuclear reactors,
and assist Iran in developing new and updated refining capability.
This would involve dropping all sanctions against Iran (including the
US oil embargo) and developing the already good trade and commerce
relationships that we (and much of the rest of the world has) with
Iran.
4) If we do these things, then we stand a much greater chance of
influencing the outcome in Iran than we do by threatening mlitary
action whenever a sovereign state tries to secure it's own future in
ways which alarm the West. Iran has another problem - in a similar
position as Israel, it is surrounded by 'enemies' - US allies and
forces - Pakistan, Iraq, Israel, Afghanistan, Saudi...if Iran (and the
people of Iran) wanted to build a capable defence capability, surely
it is only because the West constantly threatens it and surrounds it
in the same way that Israel feels threatened by its geolocation. The
pragmatic long-term response to this IMV is simply to desist from
viewing Iran as an 'evil' enemy and give reassurances that should Iran
drop the possibility of obtaining nuclear arms, it will get security
guarantees.
The Israel issue is seperate IMV - if Israel wants to bomb Iran
nuclear installations for her own security, then perhaps she should -
that is a local issue (at this stage). What we should not then do is
to try and influence Israel or Iran, but let that process take place
without intervention on either side, because it is about Israel's
relationship with Iran. IMV much of the instability in the world is
not caused by the threat of local conflicts, most of which might
remain small and short-lived should they be allowed to simply develop,
but which often turn into regional conflagrations due to the
alliances of heavyweight backers such as China or the US.
So I am against a military strike on Iran by the West (which includes
us), but indifferent to one undertaken by Israel for her own security.
I am in favour of building riendships with Iran wherever possible, in
order to remove the cause of the possible desire for conflict.
Me - no. For these reasons -
1) Ahmedinejad does not represent the people of Iran, but also does
not have the all-encompassing power that Saddam had, or the support of
the majority of the people of Iran, or the support of many of the
other bodies in Iran which make up the decision-making power base.
Iran is not Iraq or Saudi Arabia (but it could be...).
2) The people of Iran want to modernise, but also rather than just
sitting there are whining about it, are actually doing it - every day
they openly defy the religious dictats of the state. This is to be
encouraged and supported, not placed under threat by the growth of
religious activists driven on by American threats. A much-needed
revolution is already taking place, but the West seems to be putting
its consideration on only one aspect of Iranian society - its' batty
'leader'.
3) Iran has a genuine energy crisis, in that it has a massively
increasing demand for refined oil, but very poor and outdated refining
capability. Given Iran's huge oil deposits, it would to me only make
sense for us in the West to stop carping on about nuclear reactors,
and assist Iran in developing new and updated refining capability.
This would involve dropping all sanctions against Iran (including the
US oil embargo) and developing the already good trade and commerce
relationships that we (and much of the rest of the world has) with
Iran.
4) If we do these things, then we stand a much greater chance of
influencing the outcome in Iran than we do by threatening mlitary
action whenever a sovereign state tries to secure it's own future in
ways which alarm the West. Iran has another problem - in a similar
position as Israel, it is surrounded by 'enemies' - US allies and
forces - Pakistan, Iraq, Israel, Afghanistan, Saudi...if Iran (and the
people of Iran) wanted to build a capable defence capability, surely
it is only because the West constantly threatens it and surrounds it
in the same way that Israel feels threatened by its geolocation. The
pragmatic long-term response to this IMV is simply to desist from
viewing Iran as an 'evil' enemy and give reassurances that should Iran
drop the possibility of obtaining nuclear arms, it will get security
guarantees.
The Israel issue is seperate IMV - if Israel wants to bomb Iran
nuclear installations for her own security, then perhaps she should -
that is a local issue (at this stage). What we should not then do is
to try and influence Israel or Iran, but let that process take place
without intervention on either side, because it is about Israel's
relationship with Iran. IMV much of the instability in the world is
not caused by the threat of local conflicts, most of which might
remain small and short-lived should they be allowed to simply develop,
but which often turn into regional conflagrations due to the
alliances of heavyweight backers such as China or the US.
So I am against a military strike on Iran by the West (which includes
us), but indifferent to one undertaken by Israel for her own security.
I am in favour of building riendships with Iran wherever possible, in
order to remove the cause of the possible desire for conflict.