Are we, and I mean the US and our administration's strategy vis a vis Iran, are we playing the Iranian hand to it's fullest,? are we not offering the Iranians the whole Arab masses, and most of the Muslim world opinion ??
Just by playing the Israeli policies against Iran with no clear objective as to how we could win the Iranian situation we are loosing the whole middle eastern situation.
there is nowadays a clear sentiment with most Arabs that Iran is the only force against Israel, as well as the sole defender of the Arab and Muslim pride.
In the past days, The west and the US specifically, instead of pressuring for some sort of start to the solving of the Palestinian/Israeli conflict, we saw the administration totally give in to Israeli refusal of even temporarily stoping the settlements , so in the eyes of most Arabs and Muslims, cultured or masses, the administration's inability to resume any meaningful solution to the conflict,thus recreating and resulting in the same feelings that only force can solve the problem.
The Iranian regime, is playing a masterful and a winning game, even if we manage to restrict it's ability to maneuver, through sanctions and other international forms of pressure, (I hope that the Israeli option of bombarding Iranian nuclear facilities is once and for all out of the picture).
No Arab or Muslim can in all fairness not think of the double standards of the west regarding the Iranian nuclear program and it's counter part the Israeli actual nuclear achievements and their weapon arsenals, so wether we curb Iran or not,it is becoming irrelevant, as we are already on the full path of helping to make them the defenders of the greatest cause of the Arabic people as well as all Islamic nations.
Shiism and Sunnism conflict, is becoming a conflict between the rulers and regimes of the Arab world and only in their heads, they are more and more being isolated from their own masses and we here refuse to see that, refuse to address and solve the greatest conflict,ie the Palestinian/Israeli conflict, that could give us such upper hands in all future middle east issues.
I fully agree with the notions that we ought not succumb to different forms of mid east linkages, and that both sides;ie the Palestinian and the Israelis should start by offering step by step concessions to reach a comprehensible and livable two state solution, I strongly believe that the US should have pressured the Israelis to start the process this time by firmly asking the Israeli side to start themselves the process of the first needed concession, we would have gained enormous Arab confidence, cut the game on Iran, and would have started a real peace prospect, instead we are now back to point zero and Iran is way ahead of us in the game.
Maybe it is high time we look at the conflicts in the greater middle east with an eye considering our own interests and not others who could surely turn against us any time our paths or interests diverge.
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No point denying it; in the first round of the match between Barak Obama and Benyamin Netanyahu, Obama was beaten.
ReplyDeleteObama had demanded a freeze of all settlement activity, including east Jerusalem, as a condition for convening a tripartite summit meeting, in the wake of which acclerated peace negotiations were to start, leading to peace between two states, Israel and Palestine.
In the words of the ancient proverb, a journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step.Netanyahu has tripped Obama on his first step. The president of the United States has stumbled.
THE THREEFOLD summit did indeed take place. But instead of a shining achievement for the new American administration,we witnessed a humbling demonstration of weakness. After Obama was compelled to give up his demand for a settlement freeze, the meeting no longer had
any content.
IT IS difficult to understand how Obama allowed himself to get into this embarrassing situation.
Machiavelli taught that one should not challenge a lion unless one is able to kill him. And Netanyahu is not a lion,just a fox.
The inescapable conclusion is that Obama's defeat is the outcome of a faulty assessment of the situation. his advisors, who are considered seasoned politicians,were wrong about the forces involved.
The 2000 threefold summit meeting at camp Davis was a high drama. Many hopes were pinned on it, success seemed to be within reach,but in the end it collapsed, with the participants blaming each other.
THE 2009 Waldorf-Astoria summit was the farce.
Uri Avnery
CounterPunch