Thursday, Nov. 24th: Mark This Date
With some notable exceptions, it's like we've forgotten what can happen when this administration cries "uranium" and solicits UN legitimacy for military actions it's already decided to undertake.
Recently, the rhetoric over Iran's become heated and volatile questions of sovereignty have come to the fore. In statements largely ignored in American coverage, the British have been crying foul - loudly - about purported Iranian violence against their troops in Iraq. US Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns last week called Iran a country "embarked on a very radical course." Rice expressed "every confidence in what the British are saying" about Iranian involvement in southern Iraq.
This weekend, however, added a new twist that could escalate things further. On Saturday, bomb blasts in a southwestern Iranian shopping center killed 6, and today, Iran is linking the blasts to British agents, claiming "Foreign agents, led by treacherous and criminal Britain, have trained teams in Iraq to create insecurity and an air of fright and terror in the province of Khuzestan." Besides what undoubtedly is Iranians' very real perception that England's responsible for killing Iranians, this statement is also likely a plea for sympathy from the 35 countries voting on Nov. 24th. For both reasons, this could get ugly, and quick. I concede the temptation to see this as a problem for Britain and Iran to sort out. However, such a view ignores how concerted American and British efforts are and have been, and how closely they're linked in the world's eyes.
I'm far from knowing what US designs are at work here, nor what we should be doing. But one thing I'm sure of is we should be paying a lot more attention and having a lot more debate.
Well, If british agents can be proven to be involved in terrorism, the government should fall. And I wouldnt be a bit surprised if they were involved. I wouldn't be surprised if Americans were involved either.
October 17, 2005 9:41 AM | Reply | Permalink
Excellent post, G, and a subject on which you know I agree. I continue to be seriously concerned that there is such an appalling lack of coverage in our mainstream media of this potentially catastrophic situation. But I'm even more distressed by the fact that this Administration seems to have learned nothing from its mistakes in Iraq (oh, right, the Bushies have never made any errors that they can recall!), and has once again rejected diplomacy in favor of a familiar belligerent posture.
As for the escalating "Did NOT" - "Did SO!" scenario between the U.K. and Tehran, I can only say that Britain's contentions appear, once again, to be based on little more than the same ol' roundabout (and nebulous) guessing. Iran, on the other hand, seems to have more concrete and direct evidence of English hijinks. And given the overall unreliability of the press at present, it's hard to know which "facts" are actually facts - although I personally wouldn't be surprised that MI5 meddling is involved.
I know this much, however. Whether a matter of misperception or the result of intentional U.K./U.S. agitation, this situation is already heading toward a place of increased instability in the Mid East. Tehran today is taking definite steps to retaliate to our agressive and unsubstantiated stance. Official comments on the topic are routinely beginning to employ some terrifying language. The Internation Herald Tribune story linked contains this passage:
Frustratingly, all we can really do is to remain vigilant, and to pester our elected officials at every opportunity to pay closer attention. Thanks again for the information, and keep up the good work.
October 17, 2005 10:25 AM | Reply | Permalink