Want Peace Between Israel and the Palestinians? Bring Down the Tehran Regime
A long time ago I decided not to “do” the Middle East, and although I’ve been afflicted with Iranian matters over the years, I have generally stayed away from the Arab-Israeli thing. There is no shortage of smart people who deal with it; I don’t really know the history of the region; and I don’t speak or read any of the languages. My one insight into Israeli matters has to do with bridge (the card game). Back in the seventies I coached their national team for a year (with splendid results, so I retired before I could screw up).
But I do know about Iran, and I know that the Revolutionary Guards and Hezbollah have a lot to say about the Palestinian groups. Both Hamas and Fatah are funded, armed, and trained by the mullahs and their creatures. On many occasions Iran has exercised a veto, most recently–according to Fatah leader Mahmoud Abbas–wrecking a “unity” plan for a single Palestinian position in talks with Israel. Abbas said that
“Iran doesn’t want Hamas to sign the Cairo reconciliation document…” Abbas said Hamas objected to signing an Egyptian-brokered deal with Fatah because of opposition from Teheran, and argued that the Palestinians should be “free from Iranian tutelage.”
I draw a simple conclusion from this sort of thing: it’s impossible to “solve” the Arab-Israeli thing so long as the mullahs rule in Tehran. They have too much control over the Palestinians, and they don’t want peace between Israelis and Palestinians.
Ergo, the endless kabuki dances, the quartets, the international conferences, the endless schemes, the perpetual negotiations, all that and more, are totally beside the point. You have to “do” Iran first. And the only happy way to do that is to support the Iranian people against the evil regime, and get a government in Tehran that wants to live in peace with its neighbors.
You want to make progress in the “peace process?” Work for a free Iran.
“There is no shortage of smart people who deal with it; I don’t really know the history of the region; and I don’t speak or read any of the languages.”
Those things never stopped Roger Cohen, David Axelrod or Chris Matthews.
I have i question – why do we want peas with the ‘balentenians’? what will it accomplish, beside giving the arabs another stone with which to hurt israelis?
With respect, Mr. Ledeen, even if Iran became a Jeffersonian democracy tomorrow, that would not solve the Arab-Israeli conflict. Simply put, Israel wants to exist in peace and the Arabs want Israel exterminated. The maximum concessions Israel can safely make are less than the minimum concessions the Palestinians demand. There is no peaceful solution possible, period.
As for Iran, yes, Iran is an added problem now. Yet Iran was not strongly anti-Israel under the Shah, and during that time (1953-79) there were 5 major wars between Israel and the Arab states and more Palestinian terror attacks than you can count. It is also worth noting that from 1949-1967 ALL of East Jerusalem, the West Bank AND the Gaza Strip were entirely under Arab control, and the Arabs did not create a Palestinian state in those areas, nor did the Palestinians ask for one.
I do not believe you that you do not understand the issues west of the Jordan River.
I analize the actions of countries and its leaders in figuring out what the actual market conditions are (duck theory only). On Iran, an analyst could only conclude that the USA not only “stabbed the Shaw in the back and brought the dictators, that parade as religious people; but also the, based on actions, an analyst could only conclude that the USA has worked tirelessly for 30 years to keep the Iranian dictators, that parade as religious, in power: at all cost.
US/EU demand no Jews in parts of Jerusalem!
US/EU demand terror state like Iran be established on the West Bank/Gaza;…
… while the US/EU claim to be at war (Iraq/Afghan) with the same type terrorist they demand set up a state on the West Bank/Gaza.
One can only conclude that the US/EU soldiers are in fact human sacrifice to the Islime G-d and that this war is in fact a phoney “nice Long lasting War and sell lots of weapons” exactly as I informed every member of congress between 1989-1991. c 1991 getty…
We send army men to die fighting people; while we demand that that same enemy/people set up a terror state on the West Bank and Gaza exactly like the States we are fighting/human sacrifice…this is “bazaar…
…unless you understand the goal as “a nice long war”…
I am happy to defend these positions against all comers; name callers only describe themselves..
I do not believe you that you do not understand the issues west of the Jordan River.
I analyze the actions of countries and its leaders in figuring out what the actual market conditions are (duck theory only). On Iran, an analyst could only conclude that the USA not only “stabbed the Shaw in the back” (Haig) and brought the dictators, that parade as religious people; but also, based on actions, an analyst could only conclude that the USA has worked tirelessly for 30 years to keep the Iranian dictators, that parade as religious, in power: at all cost.
The USA is so happy with the dictators in Iran, that parade as religious people, that the USA is desperate to set up a government on the West Bank/Gaza that is a clone o f the government operating out of Iran; you know, the one the USA set up in Iran in1979
Jay Getty, just because there are people with their hands on the levers of power inside
the Beltway, who are Arabist in their inclinations, don’t think for a moment that they
speak for all the US.
Or that Arabists anywhere speak for all their populations.
As long as Araby continues to spend more time plotting and carrying out attacks, rather
than building a future, the shades of those who do not fear peace between Arab and Jew
will condemn the likes of those who follow in the footsteps of Yassir Arafat’s uncle who was the Mufti of Jerusalem during the Second World War. Plus those whose footsteps Arafat’s uncle was following.
Problems with Iraq, Syria and Lebanon are also impossible to address with the mullahs in power. However I agree with BattleofthePyramids, both sides have to want peace and most of the Muslim world doesn’t, at least not peace in Israel.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hfN-O_PsuDUAvRqVJauM5zDQhY9w
says a lot about CYA engaged by the book lickers of the Oval Office, who are inside the Beltway.
Two can play at that game. For, there are Canadians who know of Diefenbaker being thrown overboard by Kennedy, because Dief didn’t play ball regarding Camelot.
“You want to make progress in the ‘peace process?’ Work for a free Iran.”
“Work?” Sorry, that sounds too hard. Easier to launch public attacks on the Israeli government.
Dear Michael, the matter is not only related to with Iranian regime?! There are several evil regimes and their creatures of terrorist groups who freely move in the region. Therefore it is impossible to imagine real freedom and democracy in the Middle East as long as the mullah’s regime rules in Tehran and Al-Assad family rule in Damascus.
The US and Israeli National Security is threatened as long as the Saudi royal family rules in Riyadh, and the mad Gaddafi rules in Libya. In general, the International Security is threatened as long as the terror masters freely move in the Middle East!!!
Michael, I deeply believe that Israelis want real peace with Arabs, but obviously that Arabs DO NOT want peace with Israelis. The reason that “we” Arabs and Muslims DO NOT believe in the existence of Israeli State!!! Yes they want Israel exterminated.
Michael, perhaps you do not know well the history of the region; I think you know somewhat about the history of the region. But I am sure that you quite know about the terrible bloody history of the regimes in the right of its people.
Above all YOU, Michael, always say the truth about the evil regimes acts. I know that you every single day calling to the overthrow of authoritarian regimes and to support the democracy and freedom revolutions in the Middle East by all means, that’s GREAT!!!
Michael, you do not need to speak or read the languages of those people. JUST ENOUGH the understanding of the aspirations and ambitions of millions who WANT respected life and peaceful future without fundamentalist Islam and without tyrannical regimes, those who WANT to become a part of the free civilized world.
You had been freed Central Europe from evil communism WITHOUT the need to speak and understand the languages of those peoples?!
You have never practiced a policy of hypocrisy and appeasement and humiliation with those evil malicious regimes as do those who claim to be an experts struggling for people freedom. In this case they just bless the evil acts of regimes in the right of their own people.
I hope that the humiliating policymakers, and Mr. Roger Cohen and others of this sort to STOP kissing the turbans of Mullahs, and to STOP bowing to the evil regimes, Mr. President Obama. PLEASE LEAVE US ALONE!!!
Jassem Othman, Syrian, the land of Holocaust, Poland.
On this wonderful forum, I call the west to destroy the civilization of backwater and backwardness “Islamic civilization” and to bring down all tyrannized regimes in the Middle East by all means and at any cost!!!
We do NOT want those Western accomplices to evil to interfere in our affairs. Please just mind your socialist affairs and your immoral disgusting left-wing issues as supporting same-sex marriage and promotion of the homosexual lifestyle in your schools, most sadly among your children!!!
Please let the high-risk issues to its people and its experts!!!!!Aren’t they? Michael.
Jassem Othman, was/Syrian.
Dear Mr. Ledeen,
I have read your article and read the comments below it, to my opinion you are obsoletely right, Free Iran means another US allies will appear in Middle east and Iranian people are true freedom seekers, Free Iran means end of war in Iraq and that results to the destruction of Hezbullah and Hamas terrorist groups and Syria will be alone.
Unfortunately democrats like Obama and Jimmy Carter don’t understand this or lets say don’t want to understand it. yet US government is selling the new stock of it’s weapons to Arabs in Persian gulf cause they are scared of Iran. Jimmy Carter on his presidency supported Khomeini and called him a Gandhi of Iran and now that they turned Iran to the ISlamic pressure groups their sales is up.
I think it’s time to free Iran and end the war, it is that simple, when Hamas ad Hezbullah don’t have money they are dead, yet Mullahs are suppliying them with weapons and Iranian people oil revenue. stop the Mullahs in Tehran and Palestinians have to go for peace.
Beside China and Russia, Europe doesn’t want free Iran either. They think if Iran is free, since the people like the US, the free Iran would be pro US. In the meanwhile, Mullahs act the way they always acted. Their strategy of preventing peace in the ME by supporting Hamas and Hezbolah has worked to their benefit. Anytime there is pressure on Khomeinists from international communities, they ask Hamas to fire a rocket into Israel. Then when Israel respond, the mullahs propaganda machines in the ME and elsewhere claim slaughtering of Palestinian kids by Israel. The Khomeinists have so many propaganda tools including PressTV stationed in UK, and Al-Alam in the ME which spread lies throughout the ME and Europe. So far it seems the Mullahs strategy has worked to their benefit. Inside Iran the Khomeinists have murdered, raped, and exiled Iranian, and outside Iran they have prevented peace in the region by maintaining their strongholds on radical Islamist groups. As a result there are now more Iranian refuges in the world than so-called Palestinian refuges. Khomeinists crush any aspiration for freedom and democracy among Iranian, and rob the future from Palestinian by preventing the peace and coexistence in the region.