The Notion of Fact V. The Idea of Fiction: Iran – When President Obama Stated His Purpose, It wasn’t to Iran but to “Istayed”!
By Jimmy M.
A little bit over a week and a half ago, President Obama issued a clear message to Iran: come forward with your nuclear weapons program developments or face severe international consequences. This battle of two different approaches has been raging for decades now. Beginning from the overthrow of the Shah to the immediate crisis of the hostage situation, Iran and the US have never really seen eye to eye. This conflict has been heated, with the back and forth rhetoric used against each nation, and seems to be an issue that will see a use of force. This scene of force might be one not seen in global proportions for nearly 70 years. At an open lecture last year, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad discussed his views of the world in an auditorium full of Columbia University students. The talk sparked outrage but nowhere was there more outrage seen then when the President staked his claim. The tensions between the two nations are reminiscent of an old, familiar war, one where no troops were used and one that also captivated the entire world.
This past week, a new chapter was added to those rising tensions when the United States provided evidence of a “hidden nuclear weapons bunker”. When the United States wagged its finger at Iran, it really opened the door for Iranians to be as hostile as Iraqis were when “Dubya” came to visit in December of last year. Unsurprisingly, the Iranian President’s response was not that different from the shoe-thrower. Iran remains defiant in the mists of global disapproval and international disgust. The French, who have reliably sided with the US in having talks with Iran, have expressed a strong desire for Iran to speak honestly and to put everything out on the table for the world to see. But, given that France is one of the few nations powered by nuclear materials, they are in no position to levy such charges. It is strange how France chimed in for this discussion of nuclear weapons and not the one involving Saddam.
Anyway, I do believe that the way these events are playing out, are eerily similar to those of the first cold war. Iran is not the superpower that the Soviet Union was, but should they get their hands on such devastating technology, there is very few who would argue that they are indeed a superpower. Iran could deploy frightening methods of intimidation, like they were willing to do with the election protests of the summer. I just hope that the President does indeed have the support of the international community. I wouldn’t go so far as to say that he needs the backing of the UN council. My feelings for that committee remain the same and that is to be ever careful of a group that uses the “art of negotiation”. That tactic may lead to blackmail or even a matter of gaining leverage for an event that is being planned.
The course of action the President should take is to stand firm on the Iran situation, but don’t become hotheaded about it and use the doctrine of the pre-emptive strike. That doctrine has hurt the US in the past and it continues to do so in the ongoing Iraq War. President Obama must not look at history and America’s WWII glories, he must create it. That cannot be created by launching the next world war. It must come from a direct source, a light upon the hill for the world to observe. The path to creating history must come by definitively resolving the Iranian threat using precise language. No double-talk, be a straight-shooter. Show Iran and the rest of the world that the United States, on such a matter as this, can be taken at its word. I might be a fool for expressing a wish that is impossible or unrealistic but dammit, it needs to be done. The world can’t continue to look at that faint light on its spoon, it needs to realize it is a reflection and that the real light is up above and has greater luminosity then the speck could ever possibly have.
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