Love Letters From Iran - Revisited

Back in May of 2006, while administration chickenhawks and their media shills were zealously promoting the preemptive bombing of Iran, I penned a column in response to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's letter to President Bush.


(I believe Mahmood Ahmadi-Nejad is the proper Iranian form.)

Well, it's now November 30, and little has changed save for a slight reduction in the xenophobic rhetoric emanating from the White House and an ever increasing degree of hostilities in Iraq. And now we have this - Ahmadinejad has sent another letter addressing the American Public.

While Ahmadinejad's letter is again amply laced with theological rhetoric, it is also apparent that an open exchange is sought - and considering the current state of affairs in Iraq as well as the entirety of the Middle East, I believe the US has nothing to lose by establishing some common ground, which is clearly what Ahmadinejad desires. As well, it is impossible to justify the destruction of yet another sovereign country at the hands of a crop of deranged xenophobes who have so clearly been proven incompetent by their actions in Iraq.

While I am not so callow as to believe that enduring hugs and peace in the Middle East will result from serious talks with Iran, I do believe that a party free of vested interests has nothing to lose by negotiation, while those who would hold ulterior motives are want to plot, plan, and deceive to protect their hidden agenda from public exposure. The "wisdom" expounded by NeoCon enablers is that of babbling, profiteering fools.

Similar to the US, Ahmadinejad is a centralized voice representing many layers of archaic belief systems, economic interests, and power structures. While he may be, in fact, powerless to directly and immediately effect these many conflicting forces, social change generally occurs by many small steps, not overnight revolutions. Additionally, he appears to be an intelligent man, much more so than the idiots currently residing in the White House. Whether he can be trusted is a question that can only be answered through sincere interaction. There is plenty of sabre rattling and noxious verbal spew emanating from both camps, and towards both country's populace.

Besides, it's hard to hate someone you might actually respect - and that is the trepidation of the MIC enablers.