News Today

I wanted to take a step away from the looming presidential election and focus a little bit on foreign policy. There’s been quite a bit of news this week across our borders, and this is a subject that has taken a step back in the media the last month or so. It shouldn’t be though, because a lot of steps need to be taken by the next leader of our country in order to restore America’s reputation across the globe. Today I’m going to be examining the Middle East.

Leading off the discussion is Iraq:

United States and Iraqi officials are currently hammering out details on a “Status of Forces Agreement.” One of the premises being pushed by the Iraqi’s in the agreement includes a time-table for withdrawing U.S. forces from the region by 2011, starting with a pullback of U.S. forces from Iraqi cities and towns by next summer.

Another point of contention in the agreement would be a policy allowing U.S. soldiers and contractors to be convicted in an Iraqi court for major crimes committed off-duty and off-base. The one stickler with this? Iraq’s current judiciary system does not guarantee due process.

The main purpose of the “pact” though is to give Iraqi troops more military control and responsibility. American troops would no longer be allowed to detain suspects or search homes without Iraqi legal authorization with the exception of active combat, and anyone who is detained by U.S. forces has to be handed over to the Iraqi’s within 24 hours.

My take? This is great. Democracy in Iraq is beginning to stand on its own two legs. Let’s just hope for our troop’s sake and the sake of the Iraqi people that the training, guidance, and money we’ve given them the last few years will prove to be enough.

Next up is Iran:

Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, mayor of Tehran and a possible contender for the presidency of Iran, signaled that he would support opening up communications with the United States. He said the talks would be to the mutual benefit of both countries and that it would go a long way towards “superpowers” acknowledging Iran’s role in Middle East peace and stability.

When we look at Iran it’s important to examine the history of our relations with the country. Following President Jimmy Carter’s rebuking of the Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi human right’s practices relations with the country began to strain. Then in 1979 the Iranian revolution broke out. The Shah was replaced with anti-American leader Ayatollah Khomeini. At one point students took over the American embassy and held 52 hostages for 444 days.

Needless to say, relations with the country stagnated and have not really changed to this day. These relations include strict U.S. sanctions on Iran which are signed through 2011 (Iran Sanctions Act) and also (according to Iranian claims) around 10 billion dollars in frozen Iranian assets from 1979.

The Bush administration’s policy in Iran was essentially no policy, no conversation, nothing to do with the country other than naming Iran as one of the Axis of Evil. This included a fax from the Iranian government following the invasion of Iraq in 2003 which offered to open up its nuclear program and to cooperate with the United States in hunting al-Qaeda, Hezbollah, and the Hamas terrorist groups. President Bush made no reply to the letter.

Although the Bush administration chose not to respond to Iran’s offer, intelligence reports show that Iran has weakened its relations with terrorist groups as of late. Pentagon press secretary Geoff Morrell says the trend dates back to an Iraqi-government assault last spring on militants in the Basra region of southern Iraq. Following the assault Iranian insurgents fled the borders and have not returned. The level of bombing technology used by the Taliban in recent attacks is far less sophisticated than the devices used by Shia militants in Iraq, showing evidence that Iran is exercising restraint in its dealings with Afghan insurgents.

So we know Iran has scaled back, what we don’t understand is why. One theory is that Iran is preparing for a Barack Obama presidency. A recent poll in Iran showed that 75% of their citizens supported opening up relations with the United States, something Obama has advocated.

This isn’t to say that they’ve stopped meddling completely though, and of course there still is the subject of Iran’s nuclear capabilities.

Iran claims that their nuclear program is to generate electricity only. The United States claims differently. Iran’s program actually is in line with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) policies. Somewhat ironically, Israel’s is not.

Now it’s not easy to tell who is telling the truth in this situation, a situation that could change for the better or for the worse with the upcoming Iranian election, but we need to prepare ourselves for a few scenarios. What happens if Iran attacks Israel? What role will the U.S. play? In the past Iran has vowed to wipe Israel off the map, have they changed those views?

Finally I want to discuss Israel:

The United States has vowed to never let anything like the holocaust happen again (ironic considering how much genocide goes ignored, specifically in Africa) and has pledged unwavering support for the country of Israel. With the support comes a lot of money. In 2002 we sent an estimated 3 trillion dollars in aid to the country, although only 3 billion of that actually showed up in the budget.

So why are we sending so much money over there? Israel has one of the most influential team of lobbyists to grace the streets of Washington. The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) 2002 annual conference included 50 senators, 190 representatives, and more than a dozen senior administration officials. In 1992 the president of AIPAC David Steiner was even forced to resign after boasting to New York businessman Harry Katz about his political sway.

Here’s where my beef comes in. Included in U.S. support for Israel has been ignorance of what they’re doing with our military support. Israel routinely rains our bombs and missiles down on Palestinian targets in their own country. I have no problems supporting the people of Israel in working towards peace. Is that really what the Israeli government is working towards though?

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