IRAN and U.S. Politics - The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
Here's a hint of the "Good" that comes later in this post:
Wes Clark quoted while talking to Sean "Gaston" Hannity,
"If we could change people’s mind without using the military, we’ll all be a lot more secure"
Now for the Bad and the Ugly......
The way that the news would tell it, Iran is currently Public Enemy #1 --in front of Al Qeada and certainly before Osama Bin Waldo.
The Presidential '08 hopefuls, by a margin of too many, appear eager to play cowboy a la George Bush! We are hearing lotsa bravado, slogan filled "Bushisms" formulated while on the campaign trail or in smoky conference rooms filled with Neocons luminaries.
"Bring them on" has been replaced with "We will not tolerate under any circumstances", and "Make our Day" by "all options are on the table", more often said twice in succession for added emphasis and effect.
Unfortunately, none of these 2008 wannabes learned the hard lessons of Vietnam (nearly none went, and so I see why) and all naively supported the Iraq invasion (of course some said sorry 3 year late(r), so it's not surprising when some of the "usual" suspects are back talking the same Bushit, but being careful to replace Iraq with Iran. Some of these candidates are quite expected, while others are quite clueless.
As Iran is a "work in progress" as far as our foreign policy is concerned, it is a fluid issue sorta, kinda. Iran admittedly is a more serious matter than Iraq could have ever hoped to be, but then we've been sticking a stick to Iran's sides for the past 5 years. Being named part of the Axis of Evil doesn't exactly bring out the best in one's behavior, I'm afraid.
So how do we handle Iran? Do we threaten, cajole, bluster, or do sanctions a la Iraq? What exactly are the steps to be taken in order to keep Iran in a place acceptable to the United States and most of the world?
In otherwords, what's the Iran plan?
Sure, the candidates will tell you all that is wrong with Iran; they are evil and Ahmedinejad, untrustworthy. The candidates will firmly insist that the military options and all other possibilities remain on the table, while slamming a hand to the table. But what does that really mean? Tell us something that we don't know! How is the table set? Which china pattern will we be using? Will any other country help us decide? Is there both a steak and butter knife laid out, and is the tablespoon included?
The truth is that hard questions must be asked by Americans in reference to any action regarding Iran. Where should we place the emphasis? Will it be diplomacy, punitive sanctions, or will it be "Shock and Awe" all the way baby?
What are plans A, B, C, D, etc...?
What if the worse should happen, and we end up in a military confrontation with Iran; What would it look like, and what would it achieve? Would it solve anything? And what about the rest of the world; how would they react? Russia, China, Europe, Moderate ME countries?
Now, please don't ask the cowboy candidates any of these questions, because it clearly appears that they haven't really thought it out quite that far! The photo op calendar is packed, and it's hard for a Politician out there on the trail!
Well rest assured, the "Good" General is on his j-o-b once again--The man's worth a million and not paid a cent! Not only has Wes Clark thought through this issue of Iran more deeply than all of the candidates combined, he's made reasoned comments in public venues consistently and constantly. Gen. Clark always understood that Iran could be a threat, and knew too well that the U.S. going into Iraq wasn't gonna help us win a popularity contest as far as Iran was concerned.
The difference between a real Foreign Policy statesman and diplomat and an Attack Hawk politician is that one, if armed, is extremely dangerous.
If you want to sleep well at night, then thus far and unfortunately, General Clark in charge is the only one that will allow it.
**THIS POST WILL BE KEPT UPDATED AS ADDITIONAL INFORMATION IS GATHERED**
Below are some of Wes Clark's words on Iran via interviews and such:
"Last September at a conference I helped organize, General Wesley Clark began the drumbeat calling for direct contact with Iran. "--Steve Clemons.
http://www.tpmcafe.com/node/29624
February 5, 2006
GENERAL WESLEY CLARK: Well that's the problem with the military option. It's that once we take action, Ahmedinejad probably becomes stronger domestically. There's no assurance that you can get regime change and the historical record of countries that have been bombed suggests that when you bomb a country, normally people rally around the leader. In this case, it would be most unfortunate, but it could happen.
And after we had set back their nuclear program by taking out a number of sites, there's no reason to think that AQ Khan in Pakistan and his cohort couldn't provide them the additional information, that some other nation might not have an incentive to smuggle in highly enriched uranium.
They could be back where we started much sooner than if they rebuilt the program entirely on their own. So that's the risk of the military option - leaving an embittered, angered Iran which is determined to seek revenge and get it.
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