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

Mon Dec 31 21:20:27 UTC 2012

No, no. I just meant that I would like to put flowers on his grave. I
thought that would be a nice gesture for American-Iranian friendship. As I
understand it, the 1905 revolution is something that belongs to all
Iranians, marking it is not taking a side in any current Iranian internal
dispute.

It turns out that under current circumstances it can be a little
complicated for Americans to get visas to go to Iran; I have tried a few
times. I am sure that I will succeed eventually.

On Mon, Dec 31, 2012 at 3:02 PM, "E. Wayne Johnson ÖìÎÈÉ" <ewj at pigsqq.org>wrote:

> **
> I thought at first you meant you would lead a militia like Baskerville did
> and unleash the hounds of war, and then I
> thought you would put some flowers on his grave.
>
> It seems simple enough to get an Iran visa if you have not been to Israel
> or
> dont have Israel stamps and visas in your passport.
>
>
>
> On 01/01/13 4:52, Robert Naiman wrote
>
>
>  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 ÖìÎÈÉ" <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 ¨C 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 ¨C
>> 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
>
>
>

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