In a bizarre example of self-justification, a number of anti-Iran hawks are citing the WikiLeaks cables are vindication for their hostility toward Iran, purely on the basis of the documents repeating their own hostility toward the nation.
Somehow, the fact that the documents rehashed the long-standing Israeli calls to attack Iran made Israeli officials feel vindicated in those calls, and the fact that the Saudi King was making similar calls (for largely a different reason) may be interesting, but provides no proof that the threats were any wiser.
In fact, other documents on the Saudi government’s position suggest that, far from actually being concerned about Iran as a prospective nuclear power, the Saudis were more concerned that the US occupation of Iraq had turned the nation over to Shi’ite control and given the Shi’ite Iranians newfound power in the region. The Saudi King’s calls for attack seem to have been a pretty cynical attempt to strengthen the Sunni position in the region.
And though a number of the documents center around Iran’s nuclear program, none of them ever touches on or even implies the existence of any evidence that the program is military in nature. Indeed, their answer to public questions about the allegation by Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan was to warn his aides that he’d better stop asking such uncomfortable questions.
In the end it seems far from vindicating the hawks, the cables just name them, and far from making a good case for a war against Iran, they reveal US hostility over the idea that such a war might not be universally supported.
Exceellent essaay Jason: i have been saying much the same for the last day.
In a bizarre example of self-justification, a number of anti-Iran hawks '
Nothing is bizarre when you are talking about the war hawks. What the leaks clearly show is Iran has every reason to want the bomb. The leaks also show that the Saudis are just the same as the chosen. Iran can look at what happened to Saddam to understand that trying to solve the problem by talking gets you hung. I still think what the bizarre do not mention is Israel having the bomb is a problem. Having the bomb allows Israel to cause all sort of problems that they could not do if they were just another over armed thugs.
So the royal families in Saudi Arabia and UAE fear Iran? I would too if I were them. Iran is the most democratic country in the Middle East, with its leaders living ideological and austere lifestyles. If that type of things spreads it could mean an end of flying around the world on private jets, spending their people money on their absurd lifestyles.
Parasites alwasy fear their host may wake up to them.
Just a living example of what Joe Goebbels meant when he talked about the effect of big lies repeated often enough.
Exactly. The mutual admiration society is finding "proof" that their ideas, ferociously distributed, nurtured and amplified by them, is somehow a vindication. Whatever!
US meddling has set in motion a Shi'a ascendency in the Gulf, where they are a persecuted majority. The Sunni dictatorships that have been in the US imperial orbit are obviously nervous about Iran's encouragement empowerment of Gulf and regional Shi'ites. US leaders too are obviously nervous- not only about Iran's defiance of US imperialism, but also about the fragility of all their client dictatorships in the region.
The USA and Israel are resoundingly perceived (in the populace if not the press) as the greatest threats to peace and the pursuit of happiness in the region. In spite of the cultural and ideological differences with Iran, Iranian defiance and national dignity are widely admired by the majority populations of the Mideast who do not feast at the tables of the elite. The same goes for freedom-fighters further Northeast, whose fundamentalism is eclipsed even among more secular admirers by their courage and dignity.
While much of mainstream US media dishes out the same war-mongering tripe, new corroboration of what close observers of the Middle East have always seen is now plentiful. Now, more people than ever are getting a whiff, if not a taste of truth. Prospects for democracy around the world (especially in the USA and Middle East) will be improved with every new course. Although so many USis are accustomed to an intellectual diet of platitudes and lies, there is hope that the notion of a better, more sustainable, more aware, honest, and accountable national lifestyle may take effect.
We are what we eat, and we are what we take in intellectually, as our diets of information definine our collective realities. Here in the early dawn of an immense information revolution, Wikileaks, and a wider global phenomenon of appetite for truth really can change the world for the betterment of all.
Elites will resist in every duplicitous and threatening way that they can manage- but when the truth is found and shared, the power of the corrupt to hide behind ignorant consent will always evaporate. Whenever we can see a government recoil from daylight, those of us who love freedom should rejoice, and take courage to join with ever stronger determination and solidarity in the triumph of truth.
if they went bust, who would be the enemy?
Dear Jason
The link says exactly the opposite of what you claim:
It makes one small mention of balance of power in Iraq then a huge section on how worried the Saudis are about Iran as a nuclear power, to such an extent that they would go nuclear themselves to counter it. I'll quote it in full to show how unequivocally your own link proves you wrong.
9. (S/NF) COUNTERING IRAN: We expect that Saudi Arabia will
continue to develop its ties with China, in part to
counterbalance relations with the West. While the King's
preference is to cooperate with the U.S., he has concluded
that he needs to proceed with his own strategy to counter
Iranian influence in the region, which includes rebuilding
Riyadh-Cairo-Damascus coordination, supporting Palestinian
reconciliation, supporting the Yemeni government, and
expanding relations with non-traditional partners such as
Russia, China, and India to create diplomatic and economic
pressure on Iran that do not directly depend on U.S. help.
The King told General Jones that if Iran succeeded in
developing nuclear weapons, everyone in the region would do
the same, including Saudi Arabia.
10. (S/NF) The King is convinced that current U.S. engagement
efforts with Tehran will not succeed; he is likely to feel
grimly vindicated in his view by Ahmadinejad's February 11
boast that having successfully enriched uranium to a level of
20 percent, Iran "is now a nuclear nation." The King told
General Jones that Iranian internal turmoil presented an
opportunity to weaken the regime — which he encouraged —
but he also urged that this be done covertly and stressed
that public statements in support of the reformers were
counterproductive. The King assesses that sanctions could
help weaken the government, but only if they are strong and
sustained. The King will want you to elaborate on the
President's statement that the time for sanctions has come.
He will also want to hear our plans for bolstering Gulf
defenses vis a vis Iran. (The King has invited General
Petraeus to his desert camp for discussion on this topic on
Tuesday.)
Every sensible and informed person in the world knows Iran is going full steam ahead for a nuclear bomb, take your head out of the sand.