Hat tip to reader Forestwalker for making me aware of the work of Douglas Johnston, whose efforts to develop the religious dimension in diplomatic relations especially with Muslim nations may save all our necks in the long run. Listen to a very interesting interview about his several high-level initiatives in Sudan and Iran if you are open to the idea that there are often other possibilities than force when it comes to resolving thorny international conflicts.
I also liked his brief piece entitled "What Iranians Want Americans to Know about Iran." An excerpt:
Security Concerns
1. Iran’s neighbors, including Russia, India, Pakistan and Israel, all have nuclear weapons and effective delivery systems.
2. Israel is estimated to have between 100-200 nuclear weapons and has not signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty that Iran is criticized for violating.
US–Iranian Relations1. The majority of Iranians living today do not remember the Shah.
2. The Iranian people do not hate the United States. The large majority, especially the young people, want a better relationship with the U.S., but Iranians will unite to defend their country against any foreign attack, just as they did during the Iran-Iraq war.
3. The U.S. may have felt humiliated when the U.S. embassy was seized in 1979, but no Americans were killed by their Iranian captors.
4. Democracy in Iran may not be perfect, but they do have competitive elections for their president and for the 290 seat Unicameral Islamic Consultative Assembly (or Majlis). There is more democracy in Iran than in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Egypt — all staunch U.S. allies.
Feb. 21 is the U.N. Security Council deadline for Iran to suspend enrichment-related and reprocessing activities. If, as many believe, the decision has already been made to attack Iran, that's a date that should cause us to get nervous as it approaches. Good God, how I hope they're wrong.