To: one_less who wrote (483361 ) 5/26/2009 3:27:46 PM From: tejek Respond to I have never shared the fear of Iranians that many Americans do. The country is one of the most promising and the one with the greatest potential in the ME. In fact, it is the one after Israel most like the US. For an example, Iran turns out more women doctors and lawyers than most countries in the world including the US. Tehran is a cosmopolitan city. Many of the young are biting at the bit to be more free and to emulate their Western counterparts. It has a growing middle class. The US turned on Iran when they overthrew the Shah who was nearly as bad a dictator as Saddam. We sided with Saddam when he attacked Iran in the 1980s and nearly destroyed the Iranian military. Why? Saddam was a pig. Iran was forced to send in boys as young as 14 in order to keep fighting. The bad blood that has existed between the US and Iran is one of the more stupid blood feuds. And Israel has been sure to stoke the fires on that one. Iranians aren't suicidal. In an interview last week, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described the Iranian regime as "a messianic, apocalyptic cult." In fact, Iran has tended to behave in a shrewd, calculating manner, advancing its interests when possible, retreating when necessary. The Iranians allied with the United States and against the Taliban in 2001, assisting in the creation of the Karzai government. They worked against the United States in Iraq, where they feared the creation of a pro-U.S. puppet on their border. Earlier this year, during the Gaza war, Israel warned Hizbullah not to launch rockets against it, and there is much evidence that Iran played a role in reining in their proxies. Iran's ruling elite is obsessed with gathering wealth and maintaining power. The argument made by those—including many Israelis for coercive sanctions against Iran is that many in the regime have been squirreling away money into bank accounts in Dubai and Switzerland for their children and grandchildren. These are not actions associated with people who believe that the world is going to end soon.
