[Peace-discuss] Would It Kill Us to Apologize to Iran for the Coup?

[Robert Naiman]

whenever someone suggests that the US apologize for something, some
people always say: but this would open the floodgates. i don't accept
this argument, either on moral or practical grounds.

on moral grounds: it suggests that we should not do something right,
because it would "open the floodgates" for other demands that we do
something right.

on practical grounds: after Clinton "near-apologized" for the US role
in Guatemala, life went on. There is little evidence that life as we
know it would grind to a halt if the US acknowledged what it did in
Iran in 1953 and after.

On Wed, Feb 4, 2009 at 2:33 PM, Jenifer Cartwright <jencart13 at yahoo.com> wrote:
> Good points, Bob... And you could extend that: most Americans have little
> knowledge of the history of US foreign OR domestic policy, period... and
> little sensitivity even when they do e g, Manifest Destiny/Native Americans.
>
> Amazing to me that Obama admitted he "screwed up" re not knowing about the
> Daschle taxes thing, but stood by his nomination, saying he'd have made a
> good sect'y of HHS.
>
> Re Obama's apologising for US behavior twds Iran, well, that would open the
> floodgates for other nations (esp in the ME) to demand apologies as well. So
> I think it'd better for him to take an open, honest and concilliatory
> approach twds Iran (and other wronged countries) going forward (as they
> say), and (especially) to immediately give orders for the US to stop doing
> things (e g occupying Iraq, fighting in Afghanistan, bombing Pakistan) that
> need a lot more than apologies.
>  --Jenifer
>
> --- On Wed, 2/4/09, Robert Naiman <naiman.uiuc at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> From: Robert Naiman <naiman.uiuc at gmail.com>
> Subject: [Peace-discuss] Would It Kill Us to Apologize to Iran for the Coup?
> To: "peace discuss" <peace-discuss at lists.chambana.net>
> Date: Wednesday, February 4, 2009, 1:08 PM
>
> When President Obama told al-Arabiya, "if countries like Iran are
> willing to unclench their fist, they will find an extended hand from
> us," the most widely reported Iranian response was President
> Ahmedinijad's suggestion that if the U.S. truly wants good relations
> with Iran, it should begin by apologizing for U.S. "crimes" against
> Iran, including U.S. support for the coup that overthrew Iranian
> democracy in 1953. Not surprisingly, there hasn't exactly been a
> groundswell of popular support in the United States for President
> Ahmadinejad's suggestion...
>
> Of course, if you know anything about the United States, you wouldn't
> leap to the conclusion that Americans, as a country, are a bunch of
> jerks who can't admit when they've done anything wrong. Most Americans
> have little knowledge about the history of U.S. foreign policy in the
> Middle East. As far as they know, the U.S. hasn't done anything wrong.
> So why should we apologize?
> ....
> There is a close precedent. In 1999, President Clinton gave a
> "near-apology" for the U.S. role in Guatemala's civil war. If
> President Clinton could "near-apologize" for the U.S. role in
> Guatemala, is it beyond the realm of imagination that President Obama
> could "near-apologize" for the U.S. overthrow of democracy and
> support
> of dictatorship in Iran?
>
> http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-naiman/would-it-kill-us-to-apolo_b_163957.html
>
> http://www.dailykos.com/story/2009/2/4/134155/4104
>
> http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/node/39545
>
> --
> Robert Naiman
> Just Foreign Policy
> www.justforeignpolicy.org
> naiman at justforeignpolicy.org
> _______________________________________________
> Peace-discuss mailing list
> Peace-discuss at lists.chambana.net
> http://lists.chambana.net/cgi-bin/listinfo/peace-discuss
>
>



-- 
Robert Naiman
Just Foreign Policy
www.justforeignpolicy.org
naiman at justforeignpolicy.org