Who are our friends, really?

ARTICLE: Not-So-Strange Bedfellow, By Thomas L. Friedman

Great piece by Friedman. I like to make similar arguments with Iran v. Pakistan.

Makes you wonder who exactly is pushing us so hard into a war with Iran.

We've gotta lotta friends who don't have our best interests at heart and like to use and manipulate us extensively.

I like to remember that every time I hear we can't possibly talk to Iran because they won't really want to "help" us (Duh! Ya think?).

Lotta "allies" out there who don't really want to help us, so spare me the lecture on those "untrustworthy" Iranians.

Expect everybody to be exactly who they are--and nobody else.

Thanks to Tyler Durden for sending this.

Comments

[farhad]

the situation in Iran has never been so ready for full economic &political engagment than right now .like kissenger said we have to respect Iran as akey player in the region.its no use to deny it.

[jtc]

"People are always asking me if I know Tyler Durden."

--fight club

[Brad]

This is part of a bigger issue that I have serious problems with - if what the current US, UK & Iraqi governments are doing in Iraq is best for the region or world, why is every other major regional power sitting on their hands?

The big answers seem to come in the form of ethnic reasons, Shiite versus Sunni; but I can't shake the feeling that things would be going better if other nations - Old core (Western Europe) and New Core (China? India?) were lending support.

That this is a "US problem" strikes me as an enormous problem from the start.

[seamus]

I'm wondering if the American Jewish lobby may have a hand in obstructing any attempt to engage Iran. Look at any publication or website by any mainstream and/or conservative Jewish organization, and they're all about Ahmedinejad this, Ahmedinejad that. It's undeniable that Iran's democratically-elected head of state is the greatest force of anti-Semitism in the world, sponsoring a high-profile Holocaust-denial conference, and pursuing a nuclear weapon while overtly calling for the literal destruction of Israel.

That said, as an American first, I think nothing would make the world safer and weaken the forces of Islamic fundamentalism as America engaging Iran.

[Anonymous]

jtc: i TOLD you not to talk about Fight Club! ;-)

(but seriously, good eye. the reader who sent in the article must remain anonymous, but since he quoted Tyler Durden in his signature... ;-)

[le0pard13]

This is a good piece by Friedman, and a good post by Tom, too.

Quote: "Makes you wonder who exactly is pushing us so hard into a war with Iran."

I think you know who, Tom ;-)

All of this has me recalling a quote from Larry C. Johnson (the ex-CIA officer) who said in an interview a couple of years ago, [paraphrasing]:

"there's no such thing as a 'friendly' foreign intelligence service..."

As with Tom's statement, "I trust the Chinese to be Chinese--nothing more, ...", we should expect the same from all, especially our 'friends'. You remember Michael Corleone's oft-quoted line from "The Godfather", don't you?

[JRRICHARD]

I had some problems with Fight Club -- Brad Pitt mocking a Calvin Klein ad? the ending sucked too but 2/3 of a great movie.