[Dean's World] Ali Eteraz: Creating A Left Narrative On Iran Pt. 2

[notify at powerblogs.com]

Posted by Ali Eteraz:
Creating A Left Narrative On Iran Pt. 2
http://www.deanesmay.com/posts/1167380644.shtml


   I have put up the second part.

   [I had initially thought I'd get it done by the time people got to
   reading the first part but who was I kidding, I'm but a blogger].

     Today, the primary instigation and justification behind the bombs
     away strategy are Iran's nuclear ambitions. The primary opponents
     of a nuclear Iran are Israel and Saudi Arabia.

     The previous focus on Iran never included nuclear weapons. The
     previous dual strategy on Iran offered from either side included
     some way of solving its human rights abuses, and cutting off its
     connection to Hizbollah.

     Never before did we have to deal with an Iran with not just
     regional hegemonic ambitions, but actual likelihood of success in
     pursuing such ambitions (Saudi's Shia Crescent, Iraqi Shias, plus
     Iranian nukedom). The problem of a nuclear Iran, coupled with
     Israeli calls for immediate military action against the nuclear
     facilities (being heard by VP Cheney and the Right pundits), and a
     potential arms race with Saudi Arabia which in the past has struck
     deals with Pakistan, creates a lot of consternation. Americans,
     generally, deal with such consternation by reminding the world of
     the supremacy of their weaponry, and their ability to use said
     weapons.

     At the current time the Right has enunciated two starkly
     problematic approaches to Iran. The first is the military option;
     something mimicking Iraq. The second is the even more idealist
     option in which "the Iranian people" are roused to replace their
     oligarchs, and in the process, magically become secular liberals
     (who would then somehow replace their nuclear ambitions with
     nuclear non-proliferation and give up their regional hegemonic
     dreams). Fact is, there is no reason to believe that a democratic
     Iran would have ambitions any lesser than an oligarchic Iran.
     Something more has to be done.

     It is patently obvious that the first strategy is simply not viable
     -- insert here the multifarious logistical and military reasons for
     why the U.S. is not capable of any kind of sustained military
     campaign (a little something called Iraq and Afghanistan hinder
     that mission). The second option is problematic because there is no
     such thing as "the Iranian people." Large parts of Iranian
     opposition to the regime comes not from the secular elites (who for
     the most part are in Los Angeles and Stockholm), but from
     ultra-traditionalist Ayatollahs like Bourojourdi who happen to
     disagree with the regime on theological grounds (as they believe
     that the Iranian state was not meant to become co-extensive with
     the idea of the Mahdi). The Right never asks how it will transform
     a society of 60+ million into one secular liberal monolith; and
     upon realizing that it has no meaningful answer to this conundrum,
     it consents to a discourse that is largely rooted in the use of
     arms (which some think should be total and some say surgical). None
     of these solutions are viable and I believe the Left can do better.

   [1]Continue reading the rest at eteraz.org

References

   1. http://eteraz.org/story/2006/12/29/090/28212