Hitchens “Gets It” Concerning Iran
He sets it up with these observations:
1. There is nothing at all that any Western country can do to avoid the charge of intervening in Iran’s foreign affairs. The deep belief that everything—especially anything in English—is already and by definition an intervention is part of the very identity and ideology of the theocracy.
2. It is a mistake to assume that the ayatollahs, cynical and corrupt as they may be, are acting rationally. They are frequently in the grip of archaic beliefs and fears that would make a stupefied medieval European peasant seem mentally sturdy and resourceful by comparison.
3. The tendency of outside media to check the temperature of the clerics, rather than consult the writers and poets of the country, shows our own cultural backwardness in regrettably sharp relief. Anyone who had been reading Pezeshkzad and Nafisi, or talking to their students and readers in Tabriz and Esfahan and Mashad, would have been able to avoid the awful embarrassment by which everything that has occurred on the streets of Iran during recent days has come as one surprise after another to most of our uncultured “experts.”
And he brings it home with this:
That last observation also applies to the Obama administration. Want to take a noninterventionist position? All right, then, take a noninterventionist position. This would mean not referring to Khamenei in fawning tones as the supreme leader and not calling Iran itself by the tyrannical title of “the Islamic republic.” But be aware that nothing will stop the theocrats from slandering you for interfering anyway. Also try to bear in mind that one day you will have to face the young Iranian democrats who risked their all in the battle and explain to them just what you were doing when they were being beaten and gassed. [emphasis mine].
For those of you who continue to miss this point, there it is, perfectly stated.
And, for those who find “hot dogs on the 4th” still acceptable for members of a regime presently engaged in viciously and murderously silencing their own people, one has to assume you believe in rewarding bad behavior by pretending it hasn’t happened. That’s not “diplomacy”, that’s simply an abysmally poor choice that signals weakness.
~McQ
Hitchens is an intriguing fellow. On one hand, he is a far-left Marxist whose comments about Mother Teresa anger me. On the other hand, he is one of the few people on the Left who actually have values I would agree with (sans the Mother Teresa argument), including his still supporting the invasion of Iraq. Now which Leftist ever supported that? The fact that Hitchens “gets it” on Iran is one more reason why the Left will never, ever, listen to anything he has to say.
One hopes they are pork hot dogs.
And, for those who find “hot dogs on the 4th” still acceptable for members of a regime presently engaged in viciously and murderously silencing their own people, on has to assume you believe in rewarding bad behavior by pretending it hasn’t happened. That’s not “diplomacy”, that’s simply an abysmally poor choice that signals weakness.
Thanks for clearly and succinctly making the point I somehow neglected to include in my tirade.
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Recent Erb criticism:
Recent Erb prediction:
Erb thinks he gets it.
Yes, our POTUS is an idiot .. and a dangerous idiot at that. (note for trolls .. I said “our POTUS”)
Some day .. may some day .. the idea that there are some people in the world who hate you, because you are you and you are part of the United States of America, will sink into some peoples’ minds.
Iran is going for “The Bomb” (AKA a “nuclear device’) because it intends to make big-time mischief.
Nothing short of Allah crushing the hearts of this folks will stop it.
.. and if it happens on Obama’s watch, it will be Obama’s fault … and Joe Biden will be POTUS
Heh, you armchair generals wanted to “Turn Iran into glass” not long ago – now you’re concerned for the poor oppressed Iranians you wanted dead? O knows what he’s doing even if you don’t.
Always nice to see you take the usual fatal logical leap based in false assumptions Tom. Keep up the good work.
I missed the time I asked us to turn their houses into a glass parking lot.
Sure there are people here who suggested it. But then you’re here posting too Tom, tell me, are you representative of all the posters here?
I’d say you offset each other rather nicely.
Hitchens hits the nail on the head when he says:
“Also try to bear in mind that one day you will have to face the young Iranian democrats who risked their all in the battle and explain to them just what you were doing when they were being beaten and gassed.”
The Czechs and Poles and Hungarians still remember the “Western Betrayal”. Their supposed allies, the British and the French, prevaricated as Hitler and Stalin conquered Eastern Europe piecemeal. Later, the West once more watched as the Iron Curtain fell across it. Then the West watched again as the Hungarian revolution and then the Czech revolution were suppressed. They still remember where we stood.
Discontent in Iran has been building for 20 years. It is only a matter of time before the youth take power — one way or another — and fundamentally change that country. I don’t want the albatross of having abetted the previous regime hanging around our neck at that time.
Haven’t had the wrong man at the wrong time like this since Jimmy Carter.