http://nycjunta.com/2009/10/19/iran-vs-saudi-arabia/ A stiff drink and a good discussion Tue, 07 Sep 2010 23:33:00 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 http://nycjunta.com/2009/10/19/iran-vs-saudi-arabia/comment-page-1/#comment-90 Jeremy Hurewitz Sat, 24 Oct 2009 19:49:20 +0000 http://nycjunta.com/?p=264#comment-90 In principal I agree with you, the whole Tom Friedman McDonald's theory on war is a good one. But the problem isn't animosity amongst everyday Iranians--polls repeatedly show that Iranians are some of the most pro-American people in the Middle East. The problem is the government, who have stolen an election, subverted the will of the people, and are now crushing dissent. Adding that to their dangerously messianic ramblings, their Holocaust denial, and their nuclear program, I think that relying on expanding ties is naive. That's the first I've heard about the initiative to get the Chinese to buy Saudi oil, and I think it sounds like one of the good ideas of the Obama administration who deserve a lot of credit for really thinking of ways--short of war--to change the behavior of the Iranian regime. But the problem here is the nature of the Iranian government, and the backing it receives by Russia and China, who not only want to trade with Iran, but also see it as a valuable strategic foil to US power. The carrot at the stick have to be used, and I think that's what's going on: offer the Iranians inducements to cooperate, but be ready to make tough choices should they prove to be resistant to reason. In principal I agree with you, the whole Tom Friedman McDonald’s theory on war is a good one. But the problem isn’t animosity amongst everyday Iranians–polls repeatedly show that Iranians are some of the most pro-American people in the Middle East. The problem is the government, who have stolen an election, subverted the will of the people, and are now crushing dissent. Adding that to their dangerously messianic ramblings, their Holocaust denial, and their nuclear program, I think that relying on expanding ties is naive. That’s the first I’ve heard about the initiative to get the Chinese to buy Saudi oil, and I think it sounds like one of the good ideas of the Obama administration who deserve a lot of credit for really thinking of ways–short of war–to change the behavior of the Iranian regime. But the problem here is the nature of the Iranian government, and the backing it receives by Russia and China, who not only want to trade with Iran, but also see it as a valuable strategic foil to US power. The carrot at the stick have to be used, and I think that’s what’s going on: offer the Iranians inducements to cooperate, but be ready to make tough choices should they prove to be resistant to reason.

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