I’ve read countless neocon interpretations of the P5+1 / Iranian deal, and for the most part, they all rhyme. Neocons are upset and they’re gnashing their teeth across the board. However, one interpretation stood out from the rest. Michael Ledeen wrote a piece that was several standard deviations away from the usual bellyaching, especially when it came to creativity and imagination.
Watch Ledeen moonlight as a psychologist who provides the actual motivations involved in making the deal.
He writes:
Obama is saying to himself: “Finally! They [the Iranians] are coming to understand that I’m with them and we should work together. We can reshape the whole Middle East.”
George W. Bush would have a field day with that one. Evidently, President Obama is “with them.”
The Iranians, meanwhile, are saying to themselves: “Finally! We have broken the will of the Great Satan, and Obama will do whatever we want. From now on we will dictate terms for the region, and ultimately for the world.”
Wow! Talk about putting the cart before the horse!
Iran is receiving $7 billion (out of $100 billion frozen) of their own money. Their economy is in shambles. They’re isolated from the rest of the world. The nuclear-armed U.S. has military bases completely circling the the country, and Israel has hundreds of nuclear weapons.
Meanwhile, the last time that Iran invaded another nation was over 200 years ago. The U.S. is lucky if it can go two years without bombing or overthrowing someone. And yet….Ledeen has Iran taking over the world!
Obama thinks he’s getting a long-lasting affair, while the Iranians think they’re getting domination. Both are wrong.
Actually, Ledeen’s whole science-fiction scenario is wrong. His mind reading skills lack common sense.
Obama is wrong because the Iranians are not in love with him, and have not abandoned their basic strategic mission of dominating or destroying America. The Iranians are wrong because Obama is not appeasing them, he’s hugging them. For our supreme leader, it’s love, not fear.
Hugs?…Love?…Fear?
Iran destroying America?
Come on!
Let’s get away from the neocon psychology, and end with the assessment of a real doctor. Here’s Ron Paul from this week:
Why have the interventionists, the neocons, and the special interest groups claimed for so long that negotiation and diplomacy was tantamount to surrender; that countries such as Iran and Syria “only understand force”? It is because these groups are afraid of diplomacy. They do not want a peaceful resolution to these conflicts. They see US foreign relations only in the starkest terms: do what we say and we will give you aid, disobey us and we will bomb you.
Now the warmongers who call themselves “foreign policy experts” have been exposed. The whole world sees that they are wrong. Their advice is bad. Their limited vision of how foreign affairs should be conducted is actually dangerous to the United States. It is now clear that there are workable alternatives.
