sambino510
Senior Member
- Jul 2, 2013
- 324
- 27
- 51
'm a college student studying in San Francisco, and I'd just like to ask a few questions about your policy towards Iran and its actions. For some quick background info, I am currently studying International Relations, with an emphasis in religious studies and Middle Eastern culture. I'm studying the Qur'an learning Persian as well, with the hopes of one day working in Iran.
1. The Nuclear Program: Why do you fear it? Truly?
The Iran Nuclear debate is what inspired me to learn Persian and study Iran in general. It amazed me that so many people, namely those analysts and leaders in Western society, felt so strongly that Iran was developing a nuclear weapon, when in fact they have never once claimed they are trying to develop one (in the way, for instance, that North Korea has). In fact, Ayatollah Khamenei forbid nuclear weapons as a sin against humanity in a religious "fatwa". Other Iranian leaders themselves have admitted that it would be foolish to develop one nuclear device when countries like the U.S. have thousands. The risk would therefore not be worth the potential reward.
Let us, for a moment, consider the fact that perhaps Iran is indeed trying to assemble a nuclear weapon. As I am very interested in your claim that they would give this technology off to terrorist groups, namely Hezbollah, I'd be curious to know your reasoning behind such an action. Though Iran is certainly very supportive of Hezbollah, as well as the Lebanese people in general, I feel even they would not trust them with such immense power. Instead, Iran will surely hold onto their nuclear device as a source of national pride. Not only this, but I also see a nuclear bomb as a big "keep out" sign towards Western nations that could otherwise invade, namely Israel or the U.S. It is this fact which I think the U.S. government most fears, as it will allow Iran to feel more comfortable exerting its influence both diplomatically and otherwise. However, Iran is still a rational, human country, and even they know what a grave mistake setting off a nuclear weapon is, and what consequences it would hold for both themselves and humanity as a whole.
Overall, I think its pathetic that several nuclear-armed countries (U.S., U.K., France, Israel) are so afraid of Iran. What is the point of being on the cutting-edge technologically if we are so constantly afraid of our neighbors? Apparently its true both on the individual human level and on the country level that the more money, more power you have, the more afraid you are to lose it.
2. Terrorist Organizations: Is that not a bit subjective?
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I do believe the U.S. and its allies have supported a number of questionable "terrorist" groups throughout the past half a century. One particular one comes to mind, know as the Iran-Contra Scheme, where we sold weapons to Iran in secret and used the funds to support a radical group in Nicaragua, while at the same time Secretary of State Donald Rumsfeld was shaking hands with Saddam Hussein and selling him chemical weapons to use against the Iranian people. This was only one of many blunders made during our Cold War standoff with Russia, and each mistake reflects our hypocrisy in being so judgmental of another country's actions. Hezbollah, as well as the Palestinian liberation groups, are seen as allies by the Iranian government, and it is their right to choose who to befriend and who to not befriend. Who are we to disenfranchise entire organizations as radical and evil, and then support the same groups when it is in American interests to do so?
Let us not forget that these sorts of things depend greatly on perspective. As they say, one man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter.
3. Human Rights Violations: Why not hold people to the same standard?
Sure, Iran's government practices various interrogation and imprisonment techniques that I do not encourage. However, there are many countries in the nearby area which support many of the same rights violations, yet the U.S. does not hold them to the same standards. Saudi Arabia, as well as other Middle Eastern countries, allows very little rights to women, controlling what clothing they wear, not allowing them to drive, and so on. Israel segregates religious worship areas by gender, as well as other public areas. These two countries are two of the U.S. closest allies, yet America says nothing of their blunders, and why? Because we do not hold various countries to the same standard, and only challenge one's record on human rights when it fits our various other political interests in that particular country. In Iran, we use it as a smear campaign, a defamation against Iran and its people in order to turn the entire international society against them and their ways. And even more so, are we truly in a position to judge? Last I checked, it was not so long ago that, on American soil, blacks and whites went to separate schools, homosexuality was seen as an unnatural disease, women did not receive equal work rights, and not everyone was encouraged or even allowed to vote. Surely America has made many great strides in the area of citizens' rights, but are we to frown upon a foreign government simply because we are some fifty years ahead of them in the civil rights realm, because we are ahead of the curve? If the people of Iran want change, they will get it through, and are fully capable of, rising up themselves and dealing with those problems on their own. It is not our place to take our own framework of American civil rights and apply it to a society based in Islamic law, in Iranian culture.
1. The Nuclear Program: Why do you fear it? Truly?
The Iran Nuclear debate is what inspired me to learn Persian and study Iran in general. It amazed me that so many people, namely those analysts and leaders in Western society, felt so strongly that Iran was developing a nuclear weapon, when in fact they have never once claimed they are trying to develop one (in the way, for instance, that North Korea has). In fact, Ayatollah Khamenei forbid nuclear weapons as a sin against humanity in a religious "fatwa". Other Iranian leaders themselves have admitted that it would be foolish to develop one nuclear device when countries like the U.S. have thousands. The risk would therefore not be worth the potential reward.
Let us, for a moment, consider the fact that perhaps Iran is indeed trying to assemble a nuclear weapon. As I am very interested in your claim that they would give this technology off to terrorist groups, namely Hezbollah, I'd be curious to know your reasoning behind such an action. Though Iran is certainly very supportive of Hezbollah, as well as the Lebanese people in general, I feel even they would not trust them with such immense power. Instead, Iran will surely hold onto their nuclear device as a source of national pride. Not only this, but I also see a nuclear bomb as a big "keep out" sign towards Western nations that could otherwise invade, namely Israel or the U.S. It is this fact which I think the U.S. government most fears, as it will allow Iran to feel more comfortable exerting its influence both diplomatically and otherwise. However, Iran is still a rational, human country, and even they know what a grave mistake setting off a nuclear weapon is, and what consequences it would hold for both themselves and humanity as a whole.
Overall, I think its pathetic that several nuclear-armed countries (U.S., U.K., France, Israel) are so afraid of Iran. What is the point of being on the cutting-edge technologically if we are so constantly afraid of our neighbors? Apparently its true both on the individual human level and on the country level that the more money, more power you have, the more afraid you are to lose it.
2. Terrorist Organizations: Is that not a bit subjective?
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I do believe the U.S. and its allies have supported a number of questionable "terrorist" groups throughout the past half a century. One particular one comes to mind, know as the Iran-Contra Scheme, where we sold weapons to Iran in secret and used the funds to support a radical group in Nicaragua, while at the same time Secretary of State Donald Rumsfeld was shaking hands with Saddam Hussein and selling him chemical weapons to use against the Iranian people. This was only one of many blunders made during our Cold War standoff with Russia, and each mistake reflects our hypocrisy in being so judgmental of another country's actions. Hezbollah, as well as the Palestinian liberation groups, are seen as allies by the Iranian government, and it is their right to choose who to befriend and who to not befriend. Who are we to disenfranchise entire organizations as radical and evil, and then support the same groups when it is in American interests to do so?
Let us not forget that these sorts of things depend greatly on perspective. As they say, one man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter.
3. Human Rights Violations: Why not hold people to the same standard?
Sure, Iran's government practices various interrogation and imprisonment techniques that I do not encourage. However, there are many countries in the nearby area which support many of the same rights violations, yet the U.S. does not hold them to the same standards. Saudi Arabia, as well as other Middle Eastern countries, allows very little rights to women, controlling what clothing they wear, not allowing them to drive, and so on. Israel segregates religious worship areas by gender, as well as other public areas. These two countries are two of the U.S. closest allies, yet America says nothing of their blunders, and why? Because we do not hold various countries to the same standard, and only challenge one's record on human rights when it fits our various other political interests in that particular country. In Iran, we use it as a smear campaign, a defamation against Iran and its people in order to turn the entire international society against them and their ways. And even more so, are we truly in a position to judge? Last I checked, it was not so long ago that, on American soil, blacks and whites went to separate schools, homosexuality was seen as an unnatural disease, women did not receive equal work rights, and not everyone was encouraged or even allowed to vote. Surely America has made many great strides in the area of citizens' rights, but are we to frown upon a foreign government simply because we are some fifty years ahead of them in the civil rights realm, because we are ahead of the curve? If the people of Iran want change, they will get it through, and are fully capable of, rising up themselves and dealing with those problems on their own. It is not our place to take our own framework of American civil rights and apply it to a society based in Islamic law, in Iranian culture.
