Dealing with the Bogey-Man: Dialogue with Iran

[SidneyCarton]

During celebrations commemorating the thirtieth anniversary of the Islamic Revolution, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad stated that he would welcome an opening of dialogue with the United States. Such a dialogue has been sorely lacking in the past three decades as both our government and that of the Islamic Republic have maintained a relationship of mutual distrust, animosity and belligerence. Indeed, since the hostage crisis of 1979-80 there have been no direct contacts between our government and that of the Iranians, with the notable exception of some discussions on security held in Iraq during the last years of the Bush Administration.

During the intervening years, our track record on Iranian affairs has been less than impressive. We armed and backed Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein in his war against the Iranians, leading to an estimated 800,000 deaths during a nearly decade long war. During these years, the USS Vincennes, an American missile Cruiser stationed in the Persian Gulf mistakenly shot down an Iranian airliner, killing all on board.

At the same time, the Iranian government has proved itself to be a serious problem for American foreign policy. Through its support of terrorist groups, most notably Hezbollah, the Iranians have proved themselves to be capable of severely complicating American policy in the middle east, as they have several times, particularly in Lebanon. Their recent expansion into ties with Hamas has further complicated matters, particularly in light of the recent Israeli actions in the Gaza Strip.

And yet, for all these difficulties, Tehran has proven itself willing to work with Washington when faced with a common enemy, such as the Taliban in 2001-2. Furthermore, one of the largest pro-American demonstrations following the wake of the September 11th terrorist attacks took place in Tehran. A majority of Iranians were born in the years following the 1979 revolution, though their lives have taken place in the shadow of a government which refers to America as the “Great Satan” the Iranian people themselves do not seem to hold the same degree of hostility toward us as we do toward them.

Their leaders, however are another story. While President Ahmadinejad’s offer of a dialogue is encouraging, it comes from the same leader who in recent years has hosted a conference dedicated to Holocaust denial, has boldly denied international pressure to bring his nation’s nuclear program to heel, and has presided over a massive crackdown on press freedoms and other civil liberties within the Islamic Republic itself. Such rhetoric and actions may leave some wondering whether or not he can be negotiated with in good faith. Such caution, while certainly warranted and necessary, should not discourage President Obama from discussions with the Iranian leadership. There will likely be many objections based on the shopworn neocon interpretation of the 1938 Munich conference. Yet the failure of Chamberlain at Munich was not his willingness to talk to Hitler, it was his abject capitulation to the Nazi leader’s demands, and his absolute unwillingness to back his own positions with any concrete actions. Kennedy spoke with Khrushchev, Nixon spoke with Mao, after thirty years of silence, it certainly couldn’t hurt to talk with the Iranians as well.