On the "Reservoir of Mistrust" and Consequences of War
| by Arash Norouzi |
During a 2007 panel of military and intelligence experts
on U.S. policy towards Iran, Pillar underlined the many reasons why
America should not attack Iran. A military confrontation, he says,
would push Iran closer, not further, from nuclear weapons, and would
provoke a response. Iran could retaliate inside
Iraq or foment international terrorism, and an attack would strengthen
hardliners and push diplomacy off the table. He concluded with a
foreboding vision of another 50+ years of US-Iran hostility, referencing the
1953 coup that vanquished Iran's young democracy.
Dr. Paul R. Pillar, a professor, author, former Army officer and 28 year veteran
of the CIA, has warned unequivocally against attacking Iran.
House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform and Subcommittee
on National Security
November 14, 2007
"And I might add, finally, that an attack could also be expected to
effect long term attitudes of almost all Iranians. Just as Iranians
still today, more than half a century later, refer resentfully to the U.S.
instigated coup that overthrew a populist Iranian Prime Minister
in 1953, a military attack, which, of course, would be an even
more open and violent act of hostility, would be a new source of
long term resentment, helping to poison relations between Tehran and
Washington for generations."
State of the Region Forum, Dubai School of Government
September 9, 2006 [from summary of presentation]
"Furthermore, there is a tremendous reservoir of mistrust between Iran and the U.S. Iranian distrust relates to 1953 and the overthrow of Mossadegh. American distrust began in 1979 with the takeover of the US embassy. Tehran sees the encirclemnet of its own territory by the U.S. military; the U.S. sees Ahmadinejad and his rhetoric about the Holocaust and Israel, and it gives way too much weight to his role in the Iranian political system. Unfortunately, some political interests in both the U.S. and Iran have a stake in continuing tensions between the two."
Related links:
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton: the U.S. Regrets 1953 Coup in Iran
Colonel Lawrence Wilkerson: Iran is the Natural Hegemon in the Middle East
Singer Tony Bennett on 9/11: "Are we the terrorists or are they the terorists?"
