Iran: Talk Tough With Tehran

I have never been either impressed or surprised with the rhetoric, ever present, in Mr. Ross???s articles regarding Iran.

Nowhere and at no time, in his writings and opinions has he ever addressed or voiced any policies that are align with the American values but has consistently voiced and promoted elements in American foreign policies that would suit best Israel.

Mr. Ross is a first class Israeli citizen hiding in American passport and a distinguished member in {Israel first} elite whom the true Americans must quickly learn to dispel and expel.


Faramarz Fathi

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Comment: December 3rd to December 14th , 1971 is the time that the Pakistani Army Genocide of the Bangladeshi Muslims came to an end. 3 million Muslims were slaughtered by the Pakistani Army in 1971, historically the biggest genocide of Muslims.

Yah so what, is that you Olmert? Still upset over your Lebanon adventure, you do need more practice before playing in big league.

December 3rd 1971- the beginning of the end of the genocide of the Bengali Muslims perpetrated by Pakistani Soldiers. Over 3 million Bengalis were murdered. Let not the world forget.

tThis piece adds no value and offers no new insight on the subject.
Currently there is a political struggle between many mullahs and the revolutionary guards (Ahmadi Nejad's group, who RGs might replace since even they think he can't run the country). Not sure where Khamenei stands here, but probably he will try to be on the winner's side.
The RG is an economic force within Iran and is trying to gain more power. It also complicates matters more that they might have business interests in the Nuclear Energy contracts.
The right way to deal with Iran is not by economic sanctions right now. Obama should open a diplomatic office (not an embassy) in Tehran and have some low level talks while Ahmadi Nejad is in office. If Khatami or another reformist becomes president this will make it easier for them to talk to US. However NO bargain should be offered to Iran until after the election. Otherwise Ahmadi Nejad will claim his tough stance defeated US.

will you care to elucidate what you were speculating by

iran wants nukes for both defensive and offensive reasons

it was not just contradictory but hilariously absurd and made this whole piece look like a parable or a travestuy

also usa should attack iran right away as the indications are in a few months or a year it might be asking germans for economic aid

make hay while the sun still shines on wall street
good luck in the crusade against the ayotullahs
may christ be with the yanks

And you printed this??!!

This is a very well-reasoned and balanced argumentation, and itis rightly biased towards the cautionary side of portraying Iran as being bothmore aggressive and/or more capable than it really is. I lived the Iranain Revolution and can claim, without making myself a laughing stock, to know something of Iranain aspirations both because I am a Sunni Muslim who has gained the respect of many Iranian friends over the years for having faithfully represented, in opinion articles, the yearning of the Iranain people for their legitimate place of honour within the broader Muslim world and for their legitimate aspirations for influence within their region in Central Asia and on the Eurasian landmass, and for having nurtured an intense interest in Iranain affairs throughout the past thirty years since the revolution, even as I have travelled all over the world.

I am convinced that I am right that the Iranian establsihment does not itself know, in its collective psyche, whther it really wants to actually have nuclear weapons. It wants to master the technology for both peaceful nuclear energy and weapons. Simultaneously, it wants to be instrumental, for reasons of prestige and influence within the Muslim world and the emerging 'region-state' in South/Central/West Asia, in being among the vanguard to spearhead a meaningful nuclear disarmament programme n the Middle-East and South Asia, along with Muslim neighbour Pakistan and cultural kin India.

Next year's election might see Ayatollah Mohammad Khatami presenting himself as a candidate for Presidential elections, once again after having ben President once before and after having lost another Presidential election later. He is a man for a mutually-enriching inter-faith 'dialogue of civilizations' . Coordinated economic sanctions such as proposed by Mr. Ross, but that does notinflict undue hardship on the Iranain people, might be just the right strategy to help Khatami get elected.

In the worst situation envisaged by Ross that Iran is actually seeking to have nuclear weapons, Khatami will be the man who can roll back that disastrous course. In the more liekly scenario that I envisage where Iran is also seeking to assert in a muscular way its legitimate aspirations for influence, the dialogue with Israel and with the West for nuclear disarmament, both within the Midle East and more broadly, would be given a much-needed boost.

Nothing like adding insult to injury Mr. Bush. For eight years you have arrogantly and boldly, belligerently and obnoxiously lied to justify, rationalize and disguise everything. You pressured the intelligence community to give you justification while you ignored all the information that countered your private intents against Iraq and in the process practically abandoned the pursuit of bin Laden and el Qaeda; you constantly, aggressively pursued a private agenda in everything while unconscionably disregarding your responsibilities. You have brazenly focused on benefit for Special Interests and a select few, even bragging that you will quickly pass your father and Bill Clinton in wealth from after office compensation (kickbacks), while literally creating and/or adding to all of the problems and simply completely neglecting America???s best interests. You have done all of it (the injury) without any conscience or hesitation and now have the nerve to offer the deceptive rhetoric (the insult) that you were surprised and unprepared for the war, that you have honestly done your best for the American people and that you have always had real values that you totally maintained. Mr. President you have been the worst president this country has ever had and boldly demonstrate a personality that is totally self-indulgent and really lacks any conscience. Hopefully history will fully identify who you have really been, which is a sociopathic puppet who tried to con the world as you pursued the interests of the few who pulled your strings.

I agree we shouldnt keep sacrificing everything to deal with isreal's bullshit but if IRAN rules middle east then no oil for us so what choice we have.

by the way....the same Dennis Ross who co-founded AIPAC? Why are all these Israeli fifth columnists in our government to begin with? They are just taking us from one war to another. The only difference between the democrat Israeli moles and the republican Israeli moles is tactic; the goal of raping America's resources for their motherland is a constant.

Our government is AIPAC, and Congress is little more than a puppet show. Israel should fend for its own pathetic self. Less than 5% of Amrican give a crap about Israel anyway, yet all our politicians are such passionate mouthpieces for that rogue state; the rogue state at the heart of most of our national security woes.

We need legislation limiting the influence of the pro-Israel lobby. End of story!

Ross is a joke. Plain and simple. If we want this kind of analysis, we can just go straight to the source - The Israeli government. Otherwise we should be debating these issues rather than just spewing rhetorical gobs on the nation's opinion pages.

DrewCAENG, I doubt the negoiations have acomplished anything either. We'll have no choice if Iran developes a weapon except to blow up the facility. If Iran get's a Nuclear weapon and fires it at israel the world could die before the retalliation is completed. I think it's a moot point because Israel will not roll the dice with iran. Israel will act if they can't get us to do the dirty work first. It's a seriously one-sided deal we have with them. Israel rarely takes our advice and still expects us to be on board with everything they do.