On September 12, 2001, as US military planners started examining the options they had t counter-attach against Al-Qaeda and its hosts in Afghanistan, they and their colleagues in the State Department rapidly realized that if they wanted to actually topple the Taliban regime in Afghanistan they’d need the help of two key nearby powers: Iran and Russia– and to a lesser extent, India.
They got the help they needed from those regional actors, and went ahead with the invasion operation.
Now, eight years later, the US/NATO forces are still in Afghanistan. And those forces are in deep trouble there. (Osama Bin Laden, btw, is still at large.)
The 95,000 US/NATO forces in Afghanistan are already significantly dependent on Russia and Iran, to be able to maintain their presence in that craggy and distant land. If their commanders are to avert the many worse catastrophes that loom there, they will need even more help from both Russia and Iran.
That is part of the essential background to the decision the State Department announced yesterday, that the US will be participating in the meeting that the Tehran government proposed Wednesday, between Iran and the P5+1 group.
Dafna Linzer of ProPublica notes at that link,
- Iran reiterated many of its previous ideas for talks while scaling back specific requests made in previous proposals [2] (PDF). Among other things, Tehran called for an end to hostilities and for talks on issues of specific concern to Iran, such as drug trafficking and security in the Middle East. Unlike previous Iranian proposals, this one does not contain a litany of past grievances with the United States and does not assert an Iranian commitment to advancing its nuclear efforts.
On Friday, Russian PM Vladimir Putin expressed his country’s clear opposition to any further escalation of outside pressure (whether sanctions or military force) against Iran.
There is now confirmation from Tel Aviv that Israeli PM Netanyahu made a secret visit to Moscow shortly before Putin announced this decision. If, as we can assume, he discussed the Iran file while there, then evidently he failed to prevent Putin from making that clear decision against escalation.
The Israeli government and its many powerful and well-organized supporters inside the US have been vigorously campaigning for all non-Iranian powers– especially the western governments– to ratchet up the level of pressure they place on Iran.
Today in Israel, Israeli Deputy Prime Minister Dan Meridor, who is also Minister of Intelligence and Atomic Energy, gave an interview to Reuters in which he seemed somewhat seriously behind the curve, still arguing that Russia and China might get on board the anti-Israel campaign.
I doubt it. Maybe it’s time for Israel and its supporters in western countries to grow up and take a realistic look at the fact that within the world community that needs to make the decision on this matter they are in a very small minority.
And quite evidently, very few people– even in the strongly pro-Israeli United States– will be in a mood to forgive Israel if its actions towards Iran put at risk the lives of 60,000 US service members in Afghanistan.
Noting the “Vladimir Putin expressed his country’s clear opposition to any further escalation of outside pressure (whether sanctions or military force) against Iran” is a Russian’s carrot & stick to US.
Russian played same game when US start contemned Iraqi regime early 1990, but it’s all about how much bribes paid by US.
In Iraq we saw companies bribed by US to give completes& all information about military hungers, military bases they build inside Iraq, all those info past to US with bribes payment. Very obvious example the precision of war crimes the bombing of Amiriya shelter were civilians sheltered inside from US bombing. The three-meter hole in the roof cause by special drilling Laser guided rockets which holocaustic civilians inside. I remember inside Bagdad the smalls of their smoked bodies in the air lasts weeks even we lived about 15-20km far from the area. Read Report of the Asian Peace Mission to Iraq, 21 March 2003 what US done to launch a war on a nation that between life and death and there gave them the mercy death I guess for the last 7yeras of war and crimes.
Whatever US do is done on deals that parties give their green lights when that suite them and their greed as negotiations going on.
Of course, there is not humanity things in these matters as much as power and money over all inters fee my hand here I free you hand there.
Anyway, there is more important issue from Iran in ME this Syria that still an obstacle for Israelis and US which much concerning about it.
The future will tell this is ME, the objective of planting Israel is now clear and the dream come true, is a western stick in the heart of ME.
Special 9/11 Issue of English-language Jihadi Cyber Journal Released
‘. Maybe it’s time for Israel and its supporters in western countries to grow up and take a realistic look at the fact that within the world community that needs to make the decision on this matter they are in a very small minority.’
I agree.
For some years now, the Israelis have been touting the line that “Iran is not just Israel’s problem, it’s the world’s problem’. Problem is, ‘the world’ just ain’t buying it. Sure, most Western countries don’t exactly relish the thought of a nuclear Iran, but they – including the US – are not going to have their sons die to prevent it. Not to mention the fact that, increasingly, the West does not call all the shots anymore. Other major powers, among them China, Russia and India are not going to lose too much sleep over a nuclear Iran, and are certainly not going to damage their own economies to ensure the continuation of Israel’s hegemony.
I really do think that the strenghtening of Iran – a process aided by the US invasion of Iraq, a war encouraged by Israel – has irrevocably shifted the balance of power in the ME. And there is precious little Israel can do about it.