From one Iranian spouse to another...
Posted By: Foreign policy junkie on 2008-07-17
In Reply to: Fine: s/m - PTBC
Left me get this straight. You are married to an Iranian, yet you paint Iranians with such a broad brushstroke that you suggest negotiations can only take place with radical Islamic extremists? Do you also include his family (your in-laws) in that monolith? Are you able to distinguish between the single ultra-conservative party, the 7 main parties of the conservative alliance, the other 11 main parties of the reformist coalition, the 3 repressed parties of the dissident coalition inside Iran and the roughly 70 separate parties living in the Iranian diaspora, which roughly break down as follows:
• 17 communist parties
• 8 socialist and social-democrat parties
• 24 ethnic-based parties
• 6 nationalist parties
• 9 liberal democrat parties
• 4 conservative parties
Let’s not overlook the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who is the commander-in-chief of the armed forces of Iran and has the final word in all aspects of foreign and domestic policies.
When you say you and your husband are active in conservative politics, I assume you refer to US brand of conservatism…or is it the Iranian brand? There is a difference, you know…or do you? Do you speak Farsi? Are you confident that you know exactly where your husband stands when it comes to the politics inside his own country….you know, that discussion he has in Farsi with his buddies in social gatherings and over the telephone?
Are you at all familiar with the recent history of Iranian politics, i.e. the era of the US CIA-sponsored coup to overthrow Mosadegh in the early 1950s to restore the exiled shah to power and the disastrous consequences that have ensued, an act which ushered in the current era of ill-advised US interference in the region? If you have taken the time to explore any of THEIR issues, even on the most superficial of levels, then you know that the leaders in power do not necessarily reflect the will of their people and by no stretch of the imagination are Iranians all Islamic fundamentalists.
Let us at least extend the respect to our spouses that it just might be possible that Iranians should be in charge of their own political affairs and should not surrender their country as the next US colony in Middle East. It in on their behalf, the behalf of their/your families in Iran, and in our own interest as Americans that these negotiations should commence. It just might be worth a try to present US leadership that uses new approaches to diplomatic issues, starting with the intent to listen as much as the intent to talk, an attempt to establish common goals, mediate differences, engage in dialog void of orders and ultimatums and, at the very least, a commitment to avoid becoming party to nuclear holocaust that has the potential to decimate populations both at home and abroad.
BTW, beware of cowboy diplomatic initiaties. An American Interests Section (quasi precursor to an embassy) will be just that. Translation: An "intelligence" (if such a word can be uttered in the same context as Bush diplomacy) collecting dugout established to gather dirt to manipulate in the US media in an attempt to justify dialing conservative-style nuclear nonproliferation up a notch, just in time for an election. Ain't that handy?
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Last time I checked, it's not 'blatant' to have dinner with one's spouse...
Last time I checked, it's not 'blatant' to have dinner with one's spouse...
I'm not Iranian
Nor is my husband. The friend is. He married a Korean. They chose conservatism. I may not have clarified that. Sorry about that.
I have to wonder where many get their news. I know politics every which-way, so won't even go there. I kick total butt at it.
Not interested in this.
You can't talk to the Iranian leaders
They are the cleric and they are the ones who rule the country. They rule with an iron fist and by the power of Islam. The president of their country is only a puppet just like in the U.S.
We should NOT get involved unless asked, which probably will not happen. Sure, there are some in this country who thinks we should and it's both sides who have that opinion, not just the pubs. President A will be the winner, you can be sure of that, since they are only doing recounts on certain areas of the country (probably those that voted for President A.
Do you honestly think the Iranian president can be reasoned with?
I know you think Bush is as evil as he is (maybe you think Bush is worse) but do you honestly think the Iranian president is a reasonable person? I think nukes should be a last resort, but it should be in the contingency. I think you and the writer of the article are looking at this all wrong. Sometimes you have to saber rattle. When the neighborhood bully is issuing threats and does not appear open to negotiation you have to show him you can beat him up, and basically that's true. We could light up his little sandbox of a country inside of 30 minutes. He knows that, but he's just testing the waters to see how passive, poll-sensitive our country has become. He, like the rest of the fundamentalist Islam Jihadists, are testing what our resolve is.
Hey, but have a good shopping spree. I'd hate to have to count on a nuclear war to erase my debt...
You might want to read another article by an Iranian on the other board.
It helps to know both sides of the story and since I am pretty sure Beth is not in Iran right now, or Iranian in nationality, the one who IS there might have a better handle on things. Get the picture?
I've actually listened to what the Iranian president says.?
You said for liberals only, so excuse my intrustion into your world, but have you honestly not listened to some of the speeches he makes in his own country which usually begin something like *Death to America* etc. etc.? He's sounding all diplomatic right now, because he knows that his soldiers got caught in Hezobollah's forces, and he knows he has everything to lose. I'm going to watch it not because I think he's the best thing since sliced bread like some of you do, but because it's going to be real interesting when on Monday morning the free press rolls out all the hate/kill America speeches he's made, but you all will just believe they are fabricated too.
The Iranian president is a whack job & needs to be snuffed out.
Don't know which board or which specific Iranian you're referring to.
If you want me to read something, then post it, so I can, but please don't suggest that I go on some kind of wild goose chase on some other unnamed *board* for a post by some unnamed *Iranian.* I simply don't have that kind of time.
If you don't think the Iranian president is nuts, then blame the media and the administration because that's he way he's been portrayed by both, and his actions sure suggest that he is. Please post his redeeming qualities as you see them.
I posted this because I thought it was humorous, yet dead on accurate in the way a lot of Americans feel.
Get the picture? 
FOR LIBERALS ONLY: 60 Minutes Interviews Iranian President Sunday.
I am looking forward to watching this interview because I am truly interested in hearing what this man has to say.
I can recall as a child growing up to the tune of We have to fight Vietnam because the Communists want to take over the world. During those times, the worst thing a person could be called in the USA was a Communist.
It seems to me these days the USA is the one that wants to take over the world. It has no respect for any government that cares about its poor people or even America's poor, for that matter. (For example, Chavez tried to provide cheap oil to the poor last winter while Bush didn't care if poor Americans froze to death.) Any country that removes the profit incentive from medicine or education for its citizens is a terrorist nation in Bush's eyes. We're quickly approaching the day when most of us will be poor as the middle class continues to disintegrate before our eyes.
I am suspect of everyone Bush labels as terrorist these days, and I want to hear both sides. Bush refuses to sit down diplomatically and listen to what Ahmadinejad has to say, so I'm grateful that Mike Wallace took the time to do so.
The Iranian President has challenged Bush to a live debate...sm
I would be interested in hearing that. One quote from the article:
The debate should be uncensored in order for the American people to be able to listen to what we say and they should not restrict the American people from hearing the truth.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/5295550.stm
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