Sunday, June 24. 2007
Posted by Joerg Wolf in
US Foreign Policy on Sunday, June 24. 2007
For the first time in nearly five years a senior American official (Christopher R. Hill) traveled to Pyongyang on June 21, 2007, reports the New York Times:
The United States’ chief nuclear negotiator began a surprise two-day visit to North Korea today, saying he wanted to speed up six-nation talks aimed at dismantling North Korea’s nuclear program. Since US-Iranian tensions are increasing and it is said "you make peace with your enemies and not with your friends," the US and Iran should consider direct negotiations that are not limited to the Iraq issue. Negotiations are not a sign of weakness. Nobody is criticizing the US for negotiating with the other member of the axis of evil, although North Korea has violated all kinds of agreements, is on the US list of state sponsors of terrorism and runs the world's biggest Gulag. How much more evil can you get? Oh, of course, I forgot the importance of humiliation in international politics. Because of the Tehran hostage crisis in 1979, the US can only talk to Tehran about Iraq, but not about the proliferation issue.... North Korea has not taken US hostages; they only kidnapped some Japanese.
The possibility of a US-Iran war is often debated in the comments section on Atlantic Review. Yesterday, Reid of America wrote among other things:
You may not like Bush but he is a man of his word and he has said he will not allow Iran to develop nuclear weapons. The die has been cast. Either Iran backs down or there will be war.
One regular reader going by the pseudonym "pen Name" and claiming to be from Iran responded to several statements by Reid:
We call you the Great Satan and you call us the Axis of Evil so that is tit for tat; business as usual. In regards to the "Death to America" etc. you killed Democracy in Iran to rape our oil resources; what do you expect?
Furthermore, you supported Saddam Hussein to the hilt in his war of agression against us from 1980 to 1988, you want us to love you?
In regards to Lebanon, it is you who do not respect her independence; you aided and abetted Israel's rape of Lebanon - we only came in afterwards to help the Shia of South Lebanon - the people with whom we have had an enduring relationship for the last 500 years.
As for Iraq, we will not permit that country be used as a basis of operations against us ever again. And who the hell are you to preach to us about respect for independent nations: You raped Serbia, mined the harbours of Nicaragua, intervened in El Salvador, overthrew the Governments of Dominican Republic, Chile, Guatemala, etc.
You cannot neutralize us; power is local and you aerial war will not accomplish your stated aims. And you will suffer pain and harm. You are not invincible. But since you want war, you will get it.
US-Iranian tensions are increasing. Opportunities and time for a diplomatic solution are diminishing, but from a Political Science Theory perspective it is unlikely that the US will start a war with Iran, writes Peter Howard.
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