Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Axis of evil

From Iran’s perspective, we overthrew its government once before. After 9/11, Iran supported our allies in Afghanistan and the Northern Alliance. They offered, through the Swiss, to normalize relations and to discuss nuclear cooperation and the acceptance of Israel. The Bush administration’s response was to chastise the Swiss and designate Iran as part of an axis of evil. Then it invaded another member of that axis. Iran now has U.S. troops on either side of it. If China called the U.S. Canada and Mexico an axis of evil and invaded Mexico, I wonder what the U.S. response would be. The danger with demonizing other countries is that it results in a deceptively simplistic worldview. Perspective is compromised, mythology prevails and the battle of evermore ensues.

No comments: