Sunday
Jan182009
Hello? Gaza is Not Tehran
Sunday, January 18, 2009 at 10:18
You may have noticed that we have been trying to make the point that fighting Hamas in Gaza should not be a proxy war for fighting the Iranian Government. We have featured some of the dubious attempts by US commentators to establish, "We are Killing Gazans so We Can Defeat Iran", and we have posted more thoughtful analyses of Iran's strategy, its complex politics, and its current caution in the Gaza conflict.
But still the myth gets told. In The New York Times' Week in Review, which prides itself on all the interpretation fit to print, Robert Worth --- based on an interview with one official in Jordan --- reduces the Israel-Gaza confrontation to this:
You might think that Mr Worth, or any other analyst of note, might recall that Iran is a Shi'a-led country and Hamas is a Sunni movement, that it was Israel rather than Tehran which initially supported the organisation, that the Iranian Government --- driven by pragmatism rather than blind ideology --- uses support for Hamas to keep Israel in check, give the US something to think about, and to advance its regional goals. They might ponder that Iran's immediate concerns are its position in the Persian Gulf and Central Asia, so it is devoting primary effort to what happens in Iraq, Afghanistan, and the Caspian Basin.
And you might, at this critical, that analysts might want to give some thought to other reasons for concern for "many Arab leaders": Egypt's apparent manoeuvring with Israel for a new Gaza arrangement, Saudi Arabia's shifting position to the point where it is taking a passive role, the rising discontent amongst their populations, the international community's ineffectiveness in limiting the Israeli operation.
But that thoughtfulness doesn't fit a scenario which still needs a Big Enemy to rationalise other confrontations. Once more to the words of Kurt Vonnegut:
And so it goes.
But still the myth gets told. In The New York Times' Week in Review, which prides itself on all the interpretation fit to print, Robert Worth --- based on an interview with one official in Jordan --- reduces the Israel-Gaza confrontation to this:
Today’s inter-Arab tensions are not just about Gaza, or relations with the West, or even personal disputes. Many Arab leaders believe that Iran is aiming to become the dominant power in Middle East, and is using the Palestinian issue to batter its rivals through Hamas, its client.
You might think that Mr Worth, or any other analyst of note, might recall that Iran is a Shi'a-led country and Hamas is a Sunni movement, that it was Israel rather than Tehran which initially supported the organisation, that the Iranian Government --- driven by pragmatism rather than blind ideology --- uses support for Hamas to keep Israel in check, give the US something to think about, and to advance its regional goals. They might ponder that Iran's immediate concerns are its position in the Persian Gulf and Central Asia, so it is devoting primary effort to what happens in Iraq, Afghanistan, and the Caspian Basin.
And you might, at this critical, that analysts might want to give some thought to other reasons for concern for "many Arab leaders": Egypt's apparent manoeuvring with Israel for a new Gaza arrangement, Saudi Arabia's shifting position to the point where it is taking a passive role, the rising discontent amongst their populations, the international community's ineffectiveness in limiting the Israeli operation.
But that thoughtfulness doesn't fit a scenario which still needs a Big Enemy to rationalise other confrontations. Once more to the words of Kurt Vonnegut:
And so it goes.
tagged Egypt, Gaza, Hamas, Iran, Israel, Kurt Vonnegut, New York Times, Palestine, Robert Worth, Saudi Arabia in Middle East & Iran
Egypt, Gaza, Hamas, Iran, Israel, Kurt Vonnegut, New York Times, Palestine, Robert Worth, Saudi Arabia in Middle East & Iran
Reader Comments (1)
A typically blustering Christopher Hitchens also tied Iran to Gaza on BBC Radio's Any Questions.