[Peace-discuss] Stephen Kinzer: Chuck Hagel's big problem: being a realist about American power and Iran

Mon Dec 31 20:52:11 UTC 2012

Baskerville leads off a chapter in Kinzer's book. I suggested to Kinzer
that he include that in his column on Hagel because of the Nebraska
connection. Historically Baskerville was a big deal in Iran. Supposedly
there was a tradition of placing flowers at his grave. If the Iranian
government ever gives me a visa, I will do the same.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Howard_Baskerville

On Mon, Dec 31, 2012 at 2:23 PM, "E. Wayne Johnson 朱稳森" <ewj at pigsqq.org>wrote:

> **
> The first empires were that of Egypt (the pyramid builders), ancient Iraq,
> and the Xia period in China.
> These all preceded the Persian empire by more than 1000 years, plus or
> minus a couple of weeks or so.
>
> Kinzer also fails to mention the Vise-Grip wrench was invented in DeWitt,
> Nebraska in 1924 by
> Bill Petersen.  Of course, Petersen was born in Denmark, which is neither
> part of the
> Nebraskan empire nor the Persian ones.
>
> Kinzer is quite the hound to find that piece about Baskerville.
>
>
>
> On 01/01/13 3:11, Robert Naiman wrote:
>
>
>
> http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/dec/31/chuck-hagel-big-problem-realist-iran
>
>  Chuck Hagel's big problem: being a realist about American power and Iran
>
> The former Nebraska senator faces fierce opposition to possible nomination
> as defense secretary from Washington's militarists
>
>
>    -
>       - Stephen Kinzer <http://www.guardian.co.uk/profile/stephenkinzer>
>        - guardian.co.uk <http://www.guardian.co.uk/>, Monday 31 December
>       2012 11.30 EST
>
> What do Nebraska <http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/nebraska> and Iran<http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/iran> have
> in common? Not much – but enough to cause big trouble for former Nebraska
> Senator Chuck Hagel, whose possible nomination to be secretary of defense
> is being challenged by the powerful bomb-Iran-yesterday lobby.
>
> Iran, in its former incarnation as Persia, created the world's first
> empire, produced titanic figures like Cyrus, Darius, and Xerxes, and is one
> of the great fonts of world culture. Nebraska was home to indigenous
> peoples for centuries. It became a state in 1867, and has produced an
> important literary figure, Willa Cather, as well as an investor said to be
> the world's second richest man, Warren Buffett.
>
> Nebraska also, however, produced fighters long before Chuck Hagel emerged.
> Crazy Horse, "Wild Bill" Cody, and General John Pershing were born there.
>
> A group called Nebraskans for Peace has spent years waging a campaign
> against the US Strategic Command, which controls America's strategic
> arsenal from a base in Omaha. The current headline on its website is<http://nebraskansforpeace.org/>,
> "Don't Bomb Iran."
>
> Here is the heart of the case against Senator Hagel's nomination.
>
> Militarists in Washington, taking their cue from pro-Israel lobbyists, are
> trying to derail the appointment<http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/dec/22/hagel-zero-dark-thirty-msnbc> because
> Hagel doubts the wisdom of starting another war in the Middle East. Their
> evidence is his assertion, made several years ago<http://thinkprogress.org/security/2006/04/13/4825/hagel-iran/>,
> that:
>
> "A military strike against Iran, a military option, is not a viable,
> feasible, responsible option."
>
>  Hagel is absolutely correct. Like many thoughtful Americans, including
> some of our country's most seasoned diplomats, he is eager to make a real
> effort to engage Iran. No American president has done that since Jimmy
> Carter's presidency was immolated in the wake of the hostage crisis –
> except for Ronald Reagan, who tried sending Iranian leaders a cake and a
> Bible, to no avail.
>
> Part of what has led Hagel to recommend a calm, reasoned, prudent approach
> to Iran is his own worldview. He is among the few in Washington who do not
> seem to have accepted the century-old principle that in order to defend its
> interests, the United States <http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/usa> must
> be involved everywhere in the world, all the time.
>
> Hagel is said to be "outside the mainstream" because he does not believe
> American power can solve people's problems around the world. That is,
> indeed, outside the mainstream. Everyone from Pentagon deadenders to Human
> Rights Watch, for example, is trying to dissuade President Obama from his
> commitment to remove all American troops from Afghanistan by 2014. Hagel
> thinks it's a fine idea.
>
> Another charge against Hagel is that he has described the defense budget
> as "bloated"<http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/dec/20/defence-chuck-hagel-washington-post-war>.
> That this can be considered controversial is a measure of how far from
> reality Washington has slipped. It is like describing Washington's summer
> climate as "warm" or Congress as "divided".
>
> Hagel's biggest problem, though, is Iran.
>
> He wants to see whether a deal between the United States and Iran is
> possible. Such a deal is the nightmare scenario for Israeli Prime Minister
> Benjamin Netanyahu and those around him. They foolishly believe it would
> endanger Israeli security. In fact, it would do the opposite: reduce the
> threat from Iran by bringing it into the Middle East security system,
> rather than pushing it ever further into isolation and anger.
>
> Challenging orthodoxy is a death sentence in Washington. It may result in
> the demise of Senator Hagel's prospects. But his willingness to challenge
> dogma about Iran has deep roots in Nebraska.
>
> Only one American has given his life for Iranian democracy. He was a young
> idealist from Nebraska named Howard Baskerville. In 1907, fresh out of
> Princeton, Baskerville went to Iran as a schoolteacher. He found himself in
> the midst of a revolution against tyranny, and was carried away with
> passion for the democratic cause.
>
> Rejecting protests from the local American consul, he shaped a group of
> his students into a military column. On 20 April 1909, he was killed<http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/baskerville-howard-c> while
> leading them into battle.
>
> Baskerville believed countries should be allowed to choose their own
> paths, whether or not big powers agreed. So did another notable Nebraskan,
> Senator George Norris, who voted against both United States entry into
> first world war and American membership in the League of Nations.
>
> Norris told Americans that the push toward global engagement was the
> project of "munition manufacturers, stockbrokers, and bond dealers"; and he
> warned that it "brings no prosperity to the great mass of common and
> patriotic citizens".
>
> Hagel is in the great American tradition of the prairie populist. He has
> sought to speak a word or two of truth to power. Power is not amused. That
> is why his nomination is in trouble before it has even been announced.
>
>
>  --
> Robert Naiman
> Policy Director
> Just Foreign Policy
> www.justforeignpolicy.org
> naiman at justforeignpolicy.org
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
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>
>
>

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