Juan Cole says a lot of things I said earlier, but says them better, and with more authority, in Top Things you Think You Know about Iran that are not True.
As Glenn Greenwald reports (quoting Steve Hynd), on Friday “the Obama WH already got more from one buffet lunch with Iran than Bush WH did in 8 years of saber-rattling.” But does that stop the Demonize and Threaten Iran industry? Not a little bit. First, THEY’VE GOT A BOMB. Uh, no. Then, THEY’RE ENRICHING RADIOACTIVE MATERIAL FOR A BOMB. Uh, no. Then, THEY HAD A SECRET SITE. Uh, actually, THEY told US about that. But now, they have the DATA TO MAKE A NUCLEAR BOMB. Wow. We should all be trembling.
I was impressed by the results of the talks at the UN Friday, and started thinking maybe Obama will be different. But on reflection, I’m still leaning towards the inevitable denouement of this “crisis” involving things that go bang. It’s just our nature.