tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27946614.post8887352971972977805..comments2024-03-07T14:43:21.888-08:00Comments on Whatever I want to write about: "Bomb bomb bomb, bomb bomb Iran"Sriram Khéhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06907731254833435446noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27946614.post-85329449490260248072015-08-06T10:08:56.097-07:002015-08-06T10:08:56.097-07:00If we three have such different views on the same ...If we three have such different views on the same set of issues, hey, no wonder then that the Iran Deal, and everything else that makes up politics, becomes one messy venture.<br /><br />That comment about the "Islamic Republic of Iran" says a lot about how much the American citizenry (and the non-Muslim world too) had been brainwashed about Islam and Muslims, right? I agree with Anne that Obama might have to mute those words if he wants to sell this. Especially given that he is a Muslim who was born in Kenya ;)<br /><br />Yes, we people are stupid. We say all Germans are Nazis. That all Russians are like Stalin. Which is all the more why then I expect, I wish for, politicians to be statesmen who will use responsible rhetoric. But that is a dream that will apparently never come true :(Sriram Khéhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06724218458246880137noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27946614.post-39044783822698483452015-08-05T20:43:41.091-07:002015-08-05T20:43:41.091-07:00So many thoughts . . .
I heard one snippet of Ob...So many thoughts . . . <br /><br />I heard one snippet of Obama's speech today in which he referred to Iran by its proper name, the Islamic Republic of Iran. My first thought was that, if he wants to sell this deal to the public and to Congress, he better refrain from the full name and stick to calling it Iran.<br /><br />Second, Ramesh, I respectfully disagree. This is not a good deal. Any "deal that only postpones Iranian nuclear ambition; not eliminate it" is a bad deal. The global community should demand cessation of any programs that could lead to nuclear weapons, no negotiating.<br /><br />Third, Sriram, haven't countries for centuries ascribed the actions of the government to the people? It happened to you in Dubai, it happened to German citizens in both world wars, it happened to Americans of Japanese descent in WWII. You write as if this were a new phenomenon, but it is not. It is this fact that makes spontaneous events like the Christmas truce so remarkable and so important. When the enemy is humanized, it is much harder to kill him.Anne in Salemnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27946614.post-19121859172129249362015-08-05T19:30:00.703-07:002015-08-05T19:30:00.703-07:00Ah yes, the Iranian government as the problem in t...Ah yes, the Iranian government as the problem in the Middle East. Nope. It is one of the many problems, not "the" problem. <br />1. Shall we talk about the systematic marginalizing, exclusion, of the Palestinian people since 1948, and the land-grabbing by a country that shall not be named, which pretty much is like an apartheid regime now? Surely that does not foment any trouble in the Middle East?<br />2. Shall we talk about the country that was the home to all but one of the 9/11 hijackers? That country, which shall not be named, which actively funds schools all over the world in order to spread a highly fundamentalist interpretation of the religion? Surely that does not foment any trouble in the Middle East and elsewhere?<br />3. Shall we talk about the two countries who actively toppled the democratically elected government of Iran and installed the Shah as their puppet, which then really activated the religious politics that later brought the Ayatollahs? Surely that did not not foment any trouble in the Middle East?<br />4. ...<br />5. ...<br />The list is endless.<br /><br />My point is this: Iran's government is not the only bad actor there. Everybody is. Including the US. <br /><br />But, we get all pumped up and bash up the Iranian government. The Muslim-bashing doesn't help either. The politicians have so pumped all these up so much that an average citizen believes that people in Iran are some primitive cave-dwelling neanderthals. <br /><br />BTW, here is an interesting incident on how who is good or bad depends on the beholder. in 2004, when I visited Dubai, a local Arab called me a terrorist after our introductions. I was shocked. His logic was that I am from America. Wherever the US goes there is violence and wars and, therefore, I was bad guy in his view! Yep, I--mr. peace--was labeled a terrorist!!!Sriram Khéhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06724218458246880137noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27946614.post-20546924322450791792015-08-05T18:21:57.400-07:002015-08-05T18:21:57.400-07:00Bashing a whole country is quite a dumb thing to d...Bashing a whole country is quite a dumb thing to do. But the issue with Iran's nuclear deal is a very nuanced one. It is not with the Iranian people but with the Iranian government.<br /><br />I can understand the US administration's point of view. This may not be the best deal, but there is no better deal. Anything that postpones the Iranian government's nuclear ambitions is a good thing. Its a multilateral, global deal with almost full global sort. <br /><br />I can also understand the unease. The Iranian government actively foments trouble in every country in the Middle East. The self assumed mantle of aggressive Shia leadership has fuelled the Shia-Sunni battle raging on everywhere. And the deal only postpones Iranian nuclear ambition; not eliminate it. Much as I detest Netanyahu, he has a point when he says a nuclear armed Iran is a fundamental threat to the world.<br /><br />So, a tough issue on which less rhetoric and more careful debate would be good (that could be said of almost everything). But your title of the post is, of course, the worst possible blah blah, mouthed by irresponsible crazies.Rameshhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11782192840421019943noreply@blogger.com