If you have something to say...
Say it on the Huffington Post
If you have something to say...
Say it on the Huffington Post
The Blog
Iranian lawmakers this week expressed support for a measure that would beat the EU to the punch by cutting off oil exports before the summer. This amounts to a statement of economic warfare
As Henry Kissinger once said, there cannot be war without Egypt, and there cannot be peace without Syria. It is the connection belt between Iran (the largest Shiite country in the region) and the Shiite population of Lebanon.
Our intent is to eliminate Iran's nuclear threat to our country and our allies. A Congressional resolution would also give the president the public support he needs and deserves in confronting Iran with the only language it appears to understand -- force.
The insanity doesn't stop on foreign policy either. On Iran, Bush and Obama have allegedly been too soft so far so Santorum wants a more hard-line approach. Visit Santorum's website yourself but to summarize, his policy seems to be to put "aim here" on President Ahmadinejad's front lawn.
A military strike on Iranian facilities would not achieve the declared Israeli goal of ending Iran's alleged nuclear military program and the expected costs in terms of Israeli casualties could be very high. It could likely sway the regional balance of power towards Iran.
The way forward is reminiscent of the saying: "Take care of your character and your reputation will take care of itself." It seems that both the West and Iran have something to learn from this saying.
In the Sorcerer's Apprentice, there can be common parallels drawn between US foreign policy and Israel, with the two being closely aligned as the Sorcerer and indeed the apprentice.
Undoubtedly, translation is a tricky business; but what is sadly clear, though, is how the need to do away with humor translates so seamlessly and all too well, from Kundera's fictional Czech republic to a very real and dangerous Iran.
I'm feeling the prickling on the back of my neck that I've started to feel anytime we (meaning the American public) are being led down a road that ends in our approval of state-sanctioned violence on a large scale.
They took everyone by surprise, including themselves," reads the introduction to The Invisible Arab: The Promise and Peril of the Arab Revolution, a new book by Marwan Bishara, Senior Political Analyst for Al Jazeera English.
With the winds of Israel-Iran war looming, albeit thus far primarily in the media, many observers speculate whether Israel will launch an attack on Iranian nuclear installations.
An important and underreported aspect of the intense violence in Syria is the role being played by the Iranian regime.
Instead of viewing Turkish foreign policy in "Cold War" terms of alignment or drift on specific tactical issues, Washington has an opportunity to recast a long-term vision that these democratic allies share and encourage a more active role for Turkey.
Let's for the moment think outside the game and assume the worst-case scenario: Iran covertly manufactures and tests a nuclear device. Then what?
When the war with Iran is over, and the only things left here are cockroaches and Migron, this government will still have the only thing it's ever really needed: Someone else to blame.
As a retired veteran, such pro-military rhetoric in the president's state of the union address resonates with me, but as a student of history it makes me more than uncomfortable.
