Comment in Red
Thirty years ago today, the American Embassy in Tehran was seized.
A sentence in search of a subject. Was seized, by whom? Did it seize itself?
The 444 days that began on November 4, 1979 deeply affected the lives of courageous Americans who were unjustly held hostage, and we owe these Americans and their families our gratitude for their extraordinary service and sacrifice.
Another subject-free sentence. Held hostage by whom?
This event helped set the United States and Iran on a path of sustained suspicion, mistrust, and confrontation.
What did Iran have to mistrust us for? Had we invaded their sovereign territory? Taken their diplomats hostage in violation of all of the laws of cvilization?
I have made it clear that the United States of America wants to move beyond this past, and seeks a relationship with the Islamic Republic of Iran based upon mutual interests and mutual respect.
What would those mutual interests be? Common friends and allies in the region? Common desires for the Iranian people? If an American is struggling to see these commonplaces, imagine how difficult it is for Iranian nutcases to see any.
We do not interfere in Iran’s internal affairs.
A pity.
We have condemned terrorist attacks against Iran.
Since -- in the American understanding of legitimacy -- the Iranian government could have no legitimate authority except by the consent of those it governs, an attack on the Iranian government could never be a terrorist act, any more than (say) an attack on the Nazi government by Partisans could be an act of terrorism.
Not that the current American government understands any of our own self-evident truths.
All they require is that a critical mass of thugs with machine guns hold the capital in order to be regarded as a "government."
The terrorists are in Tehran operating the country. Or is that what you meant?
We have recognized Iran’s international right to peaceful nuclear power.
A "right" Iran has by virtue of its adherence to the Non-Proliferation Treaty, since without the technology it stole from those who do adhere to that treaty Iran has roughly as much chance of harnessing nuclear power as, say, Mohammed did fourteen centuries ago.
We have demonstrated our willingness to take confidence-building steps along with others in the international community.
That I agree with, and so do they. You have given them every confidence that you are a squishy little invertebrate.
We have accepted a proposal by the International Atomic Energy Agency to meet Iran’s request for assistance in meeting the medical needs of its people. We have made clear that if Iran lives up to the obligations that every nation has, it will have a path to a more prosperous and productive relationship with the international community.
Since this putative "community" has given every indication that Iran will pay no price for its lawlessness at any time during its history, how could we make the relationship with Iran any more productive or profitable than it already is? Do we plan to fill C-140's with dollars (or better yet, euros) and dump them over Qom?
Iran must choose. We have heard for thirty years what the Iranian government is against; the question, now, is what kind of future it is for.
If you don't know what kind of future it's for, you need to pay attention when the whackjob they call a President is speaking at the UN. They have made their intentions clear: They want a future without the Little Satan or the Big Satan. "The end of both is coming soon." It's really not very nuanced. It's so non-nuanced even the cavemen hiding in Tora-Bora can understand it.
The American people have great respect for the people of Iran and their rich history.
Which richness ended when the Iranian Theocracy began.
The world continues to bear witness to their powerful calls for justice, and their courageous pursuit of universal rights.
Nice. I like the way you conflate the greatest enemies of the Iranian regime -- its people -- with the regime itself.
But you are right about the world bearing witness. The world is bearing witness as it did in the Ottoman Empire in 1915, in 1932 in Ukraine, as it did in Germany in the 1930's, and as it has done in China since 1949.
We are bearing witness, and doing not one damn thing else. We are enablers of this injustice, by "bearing witness." But we do sound ever so noble in our bearing of it.
It is time for the Iranian government to decide whether it wants to focus on the past, or whether it will make the choices that will open the door to greater opportunity, prosperity, and justice for its people.
It is well past time for that. I has been that time since 1979, when the Iranian government decided to focus on a past that began in 632 AD.
Courtesy Freeper FredZarguna
Now that was an excellent analysis, interpretation, and commentary.
ReplyDeleteLoved it
Keep up the great work