8.5.06

Ahmadi-Nejad, the postman and the sandmann: A persian tale for grown up children

Iran's president is taking a rare initiative: writing to a president of a country with which Iran did not have diplomatic ties over the last twenty-five years. Ahmadi-Nejad has shown us already many aspects of his political inexperience but never before this inexperience was to serve him so well.

The content of the 18 pages letter sent to Bush is not known in detail but Condoleeza Rice had this to say:
"This letter isn't it. This letter is not the place that one would find an opening to engage on the nuclear issue or anything of the sort," she said. "It isn't addressing the issues that we're dealing with in a concrete way."

I thought that Rice and Bush were more interested in ideological debate than concrete matters. During their treatment of terrorrism and the Iraqi issue, they have never shown anything but contempt towards practical and concrete matters.

As the UN is convening to reexamine constant demands from the US to decide for sanctions against Iran, the most hilarious comment came from John Bolton, US ambassador to the UN:
"I think it is typical of Iran that when major decisions are about to be taken ... that they have tried to throw sand in the eyes of the proponents of the action. That's what this may be."

UPDATE: The complete text of the letter



5 comments:

Gert said...

In my view, both parties are playing a very disingenious game, regarding the nuclear issue. To somehow consider the Iranians as innocent victims in all this would be incorrect in my opinion.

Iran has the right to nuclear energy but it's contrary stances don't help its cause. And if it does come to war, it'll be innocents that pay the greatest price.

Sophia said...

Gert,
Economic sanctions will weaken the civil society and strenghten Ahmadi-Nejad's position as it happened in Iraq with Saddam while reinforcing the logic of war. The tactic of the US is to strenghten belliquous regimes in the ME to make a rationale for invasions and wars.

Dr Victorino de la Vega said...

As always, we have to come back to « Kalila wa Dumna » (a.k.a. « The Panchatantra ») to understand the Indo-Iranian psyche: in Ancient Persia, the noble epistle or letter from a grandee to one of his peers was a literary genre in its own right.

History seems to repeat itself as the witty jackal of Teheran tries to fool the gullible lion of TeX-Aviv with his tall tales...

Wolfie said...

My thoughts entirely Dr Victorino, the Whitehouse could use a little lesson in Persian history and culture and maybe take a more dispassionate look at Putin's strategy.

Sophia said...

Vic,

Thanks for this witty and humorous note. It makes me laugh to think that Ahmadi-Nejad is resorting to old Persian litterary genre to adress Bush and it makes me sad to think that this same Bush is destroying all genres in the ME, including the human genre.

Wolfie,

Bush takes lessons in history and culture about Islam and the ME from Bernard Lewis who tells him what he wants to hear. I suggest you read the Angry Arab post on Bernard Lewis. It is hilarious.
Dr. De la Vega and Angry Arab are my favourite bloggers on the ME. However, I never comment on Angry Arab because the bunch of commentators there is so wild !

 
Since March 29th 2006