The Baker - Hamilton Commission may propose the U.S. engage in talks with Iran and Syria, as has been debated for some time already. Some observers are opposed.
(Cross Posted at slothropia.com)
Found an OpEd piece by Lawrence J. Haas in my local rag (Peoria Journal Star) on Sunday. It is headlined "Don't indulge sponsors of terrorism" and seems to be a neo-con inspired argument about how it would be a mistake for the United States to engage in direct talks with Iran and Syria. Haas begins by arguing thusly:
Why not talk? It seems harmless and it might produce something good, right?
Wrong. U.S. talks with Iran and Syria would give an American stamp of legitimacy to two outlaw regimes, rewarding their deadly behavior and their refusal to stop violating basic international norms - whether it's Iran's threat to wipe Israel off the map or Syria's refusal to respect the territorial integrity of Lebanon.
Let's stipulate for the sake of argument that Haas has it right about Iranian and Syrian behaviour. Let us also posit that there is an American interest in changing that behaviour. Is it not easier to achieve that goal through diplomacy, even if other means are also used?
Talks also would send the wrong signal to three key audiences:
- U.S. allies in the region would worry that we do not recognize the dangers of a rising Iran that is seeking nuclear weapons.
U.S. allies in the region are scared silly thanks to the incompetence of the current administration, and because the administration listens too much to people like Mr. Haas
- Activists in Iran and Syria who risk their lives to replace authoritarianism with democracy at home would worry that we have abandoned that goal.
I am sympathetic to such activists, but harsh Soviet treatment of it's dissidents did not prevent even Ronald Reagan from talking to the Soviet government. Nixon went to China and now the PRC is a Milton Friedman wet dream, an authoriatarian form of capitalism. Kind of like Chile under Pinochet(another Nixonian project).
- The American people would lose sight of the key roles of Iran and Syria in fueling the global terror that threatens us.
I don't understand this argument at all.
Americans must understand that Iran and Syria are at war with the United States - Iran's leaders, after all, often proudly say so. They are run by outlaw regimes that provide critical funding, training, logistics and other support to terrorist groups with which we are doing battle.
I was not aware that either Syria or Iran had declared was on the U.S. I will have to read the newspapers more often I guess. I am aware that elements within the Bush administration are itching for a fight with Iran. Maybe Mr. Haas is confused on this one.
The growing calls for Washington to talk to Tehran and Damascus are rooted in the belief that all three nations share key goals. Surely, we hear, Iran and Syria want a stable Iraq as much as we do, rather than one roiled by sectarian violence that could spill into their countries. Surely, they want a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian dispute that so poisons the region.
Senator Hagel refuted this one on Face the Nation:
HAGEL: No, that’s not the point. Of course the Iranians and Syrians are not going to come to our assistance. Of course not. But they are going to respond in their own self-interest. All nations respond in their own self-interests. Tallyrand once said that nations don’t have friends. They have interests. He was right. Ahh, it’s not in the interest of Syria or Jordan or Iran to have a failed state that would be a complete mess for the middle east.
Here is how Haas concludes:
Rather than talk with these regimes, the U.S. should rally the global community to raise the heat on them, making clear they must either abide by global norms or face growing isolation.
You should have seen the coffee come out of my nose when I read this one. I don't know if Haas has noticed, but the United States doesn't have much credibility or support in the global community right now. Ironically, it is the U.S. that is growing more isolated, thanks to actions taken by George W. Bush, again upon the advice of the Lawrence J. Haases of this nation. Heckuva job, neo-cons!