To me, the arrogant right-wing politicians and propagandists in Israel are a far more dangerous threat to any prospects for peace. Successive American Administrations, like the current one, shovels sheckels at them, appeasing their contempt and occupation of Palestinians.
The world mocks dogmatic believers in the Koran while fanatical Torah worshippers have a free pass to practice hatred.
Talk about hypocrisy.
War is a profitable business, and as our economy continues its decline, we can anticipate more calls to "bomb, bomb Iran" so we can fight and spend our way to "recovery."
Talk about insanity.
Already our sanctions are hurting the Iranian people and their businesses without seriously impacting their government, whatever the fiery pubic claims of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
We need to engage, but even the talks President Obama promised have yet to happen. Washington seems as frozen as Tehran in making a real overture.
What if Iran turned the former U.S. Embassy into an international peace and religious center for diplomatic discourse and mediation? That might be a gesture Washington could respond to. Why not recycle a relic of the past to enable a serious initiative for resolving conflict? The growing confrontation gives both countries an enemy to mobilize against while diverting attention from real problems.
Someone has to break the ice before we end up causing each other more pain!
My walk down a lane of bad memories convinced me that we need to work for a better future, not stay mired in the images and rhetorical combats of the past.
News Dissector Danny Schechter just returned from Tehran where he was invited as a judge in an international short film festival. Comments to Email address removed
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