...Iran and the U.S. have a lot of the same interests—for somewhat different reasons, but they come down on the same side. In Iraq, for instance, it’s clear that Iran, on one level, would like to see Nouri al-Maliki and his sectarian Shia government stay in power, but Iran certainly does not want to see an explosion of this kind of destabilizing violence on its long border with Iraq. In Syria, both countries have an interest in tamping down the violence, even though they have differences over what the real threat might be. Iran, in Syria, is still supporting the Syrian regime; the U.S., of course, opposes the Syrian regime. But both Iran and the United States say that they are against ISIS, I-S-I-S, the leading force in Syria that is opposed to the Syrian regime. So, the U.S. and Iran, in that context, are on the same side. It makes the whole U.S. policy very complicated and very contra—sort of contraindicative of what it’s trying to do. It’s challenging itself, if you will. And a new initiative to take on real diplomatic engagement with Iran might be a beginning of a way to get real negotiations underway. Phillis Bennis, senior fellow at the Institute for Policy Studies
Posted on: Tue, 24 Jun 2014 22:51:27 +0000
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