U.S. Creates Its Own Middle East Problems

In light of the latest Iraq debacle where a handful of British soldiers "may" have wandered into Iranian waters, I find myself asking "why are we all so worried about Iran in the first place"? I care about the British soldiers, I just do not care about the massive hype that everyone is attaching to Iran and the media-driven notion that the apocalypse is on its way - the same people who preached the same notion with the flesh-eating virus and the avian flu. Iran is not a threat, and especially as Americans, we should just blatantly not care about their nuclear capabilities.

Not a day passes by when we do not hear the hourly update on Iranian nuclear enrichment. Estimates are constantly in flux for when Iran will have nuclear weapons, and media/military experts are clogging the airwaves with these vying estimates. What people seem to forget is that North Korea already has their own nuclear arsenal, and with a leader who attains his political inspiration from Daffy Duck - seriously - I would be just a tad bit more worried about North Korea than Iran.

The main reason why we should all not care about a nuclear Iran is that we have Israel. By far the most massive military power in the region - thanks to our F-16s and other military technology we give them for free. We really do not have to do anything. Israel has an intelligence agency that puts the CIA to shame - go Mossad - which has most certainly infiltrated the Iranian government in multiple levels. Israel will happily vaporize Iran - and the rest of the Middle East if they ever get close to going nuclear - if we give them a thumbs up. The United States and England can just sit back and watch the afterglow while we publicly shake a finger and say "bad Israel, go take a time out."

If you have not already figured it out, Israel is habitually abused and used by the United States and the West as a proxy to inappropriately assault Middle Eastern countries. While Israel is quite commonly more than happy to do so, it is no mystery that the United States is not all too terribly friendly with the Arab world. The paradox is that we have to give off the appearance that we do care about Arab nations, for we all know ethnicity and creed have never played a role in American domestic or foreign relations ever.

It is deeply ironic that the United States, the country with the largest nuclear arsenal ever known, is playing world police and telling other people they cannot have their own. Who are we to say to another country, "no you cannot have nuclear technology that is better for the environment and reduces global warming" or "you cannot have a single missile even though we and our allies have thousands." Oh, that is right, I forgot we are America. We can do whatever we want.

Due to American international hegemony and the use of Israel as a puppet, ordinary United States citizens will never have to worry about a nuclear Iran, the suffering that is occurring in Palestine, nor the massive oppression fostered by the Saudi Arabian government toward its own citizens. Contemporary American actions disgrace the founding ideals of our country.

President Bush and Republicans consistently assert that it is in the name of freedom and the common good that we must stop Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons, ignoring the fact that our version of common good is backing totalitarian and oppressive governments like Saudi Arabia, old school Iraq (Republicans conveniently forget that their god, Ronald Reagan, backed Hussein during the Iran/Iraq war), Nicaragua (also Reagan backed) and the light of hope and peace throughout the world, aka Osama Bin Laden and the Taliban government, during their war with the Soviets.

While President Clinton and many Democrats have tried to make peace between Israel and the Arab world, all that Republicans seem to care about is destroying it via pre-emptive strikes and Israeli military actions.

Iran is not the problem, the United States is the problem. Until we as a country realize that Arabs have a right to the land they have inhabited since the dawn of civilization, we will continue to have Mid-East crisis after crisis. Saudi Arabia and other Sunni nations dislike Iran just as much as we do - let them deal with it - the Middle East is their home, not ours. There is absolutely no moral justification for the United States to have military bases in Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait, and it is pathetic that Americans are so neurotic and hell-bent on oil domination that we are sacrificing thousands of American lives. I personally would much rather have my car run on ethanol or hydrogen than the blood of the innocent.

Ann Coulter is right - Democrats and Liberals lack a backbone and are soft, especially when it comes to killing people. Liberals everywhere should be proud to detest and refute violence as a means for conflict resolution. Besides, maybe if we all ignored Coulter and the Republican leadership, recognized countries for their worth beyond oil, and people as human beings with rights of sovereignty, we would never be in the position we are in today with Iran.

A little kindness goes a long way and we can start with Iran.

Staff Columnist Chris Donnelly is a 4th-semester political science and sociology double major.