GOOD GUYS AND BAD GUYS

I haven’t checked the news sites to see if there’s any progress on the talks with Iran.  “Time is running out”, as they say.  But apparently, from what I’ve heard on the news and read in various forums, time is not running out on our country—and the people in it—claiming the role of “good guys” and casting our adversaries in the role of “bad guys”.

Thus with Iran and the nuclear issue.  So much of the discussion has been “how do we keep Iran from getting the bomb” and why that is a bad thing.  Although I don’t see very much written or said that it is a bad thing because nuclear weapons are bad, but rather it’s a bad thing because Iran is bad, and “we” have to stop them.

There is no doubt that Iran’s government has a long way to go to be considered democratic and free. There is progress in that area, both in civil society, and in the new government.  But the Iranian government continues to oppress its people.  They’ve killed and tortured.  They’ve imprisoned dissenters. There is also no doubt that Iran also is involved in supporting state or militia violence—In Syria, in Yemen, in Iraq (though ironically, on “our side” in the latter).  There is also no doubt that Iran has a pretty big and well trained army, which should give pause to any war plans by other nations.

I read a site today where it stated, unequivocally, that “Iran is the biggest exporter of violence” in the region.  Let’s look at that for a moment.

In the last 15 years, the United States has invaded and occupied two countries—Afghanistan and Iraq.  Conservative estimates put the dead in Iraq at at least 1 million as a result of the war.  We’ve bombed at least four other countries in the region: Syria, Yemen, Somalia, Pakistan.  Our military budget is larger than the next 10 countries combined.  That includes China, Russia, the Koreas, India, etc.

Let’s also look at our record on democracy in Iran.  The United States overthrew the elected democratic government of Iran in 1954, and helped install the Shah. We provided military aid to him and helped train the SAVAK, the secret police that used torture and rape constantly.  We provided military aid to Iraq under Saddam Hussein, including intelligence on how effective Saddam’s chemical weapons were in killing Iranians. 

And on nuclear weapons.  The US has lots of them.  We’re the only country that has used them. Our ally in the region, Israel, has them and refuses to sign the international treaties on nuclear weapons.  We tried to stop Pakistan from getting the bomb, but did not with India, our ally.

So the destabilization and militarization in the region is much more complicated than just Iran’s misdeeds.

I truly hope that an agreement will be reached with Iran and the other powers negotiating.  It won’t solve all the problems in the region, but it might bring us a step back from violence.  It has the promise of helping Iran back away from its war-like rhetoric and actions. And it may even hold the promise of helping us back away from ours.

Be justice. Be beauty.

Patrick