It's the Isolation Stupid! Nathan Gonzalez on attacking Iran

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It's Isolation Stupid! Why Pre-Election Plans to Attack Iran Will Only Backfire

Nathan Gonzalez
Mon Jun 23, 12:59 PM ET



This week, Bill Kristol of the Weekly Standard insinuated that President Bush might launch an attack against Iran should Barack Obama be poised to win the presidency. Said Kristol: "I mean, what is, what signal goes to Ahmadinejad if Obama wins on a platform of unconditional negotiations and with an obvious reluctance to even talk about using military force?"
What neoconservatives fail to understand is this: The problem with the Islamic Republic of Iran is not its nuclear potential; or its already vast missile arsenal, or its support for anti-Israeli terrorist groups. Those are all symptoms of a greater ill. The real problem with the Islamic Republic is its isolation. And that is something that we, as Americans, have the power to change virtually overnight.

Sure, Iran's current isolation is of its own making. With the Iranian Revolution that ended in 1979, Iran declared itself to be "neither East nor West," a testament to the non-aligned status the people of Iran had fought for during popular movements a century and a half in the making. The Iranian Revolution was a disappointment to most, with its non-democratic outcome, the suppression of women's and minority rights, and the rampant mismanagement of the economy and the country's defenses. But one thing came from the Iranian Revolution that mattered a lot to a 2,500-year-old country: its complete and unconditional political independence.

Iran, a country that hasn't answered to a super power since 1979, achieved the kind of non-alignment that most citizens of the Middle East can only dream about. When there were sanctions, Iran found a way around them; or better still, it pushed the envelope of its domestic industrial base when no alternative was available. When visiting Iran, a man surprised me by saying, "Thank you for the sanctions." He meant it. Iran's independence was often its biggest strength.

More at link:Huffpost via yahoo

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1. Kristol = whack job

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2. No doubt.

The article is a great intro to Iran to those who think that it's like the rest of the region, you know, the let's "nuke 'em all" crowd.

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3. Shameless self kick

Because there's some good info in there for discussion with others.