Quote:
Originally Posted by jOHN rODRIGUEZ
Roxana Saberi isn't rhetoric.
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You're right, she's not. She is a terrible and glaring example of the backwards, extremist psyche of Iran, and her situation is highly unfortunate.
However, banging the drums of war and stiff talk is not going to fix anything. Not to say that the drums of war and stiff talk don't have their uses but we have to be mindful of the fact that what we do in/with Iran will resonate to every corner of the Middle East and perhaps the Muslim world as it is today. If we do not try the avenue of diplomacy then Roxana doesn't stand a chance in hell of winning her appeal, she doesn't stand a chance in hell of extradition from Iran and she certainly doesn't stand a chance of even serving 8 years that aren't marred with physical and psychological terror in Iran's penal system. The war drums are only going to galvanize Iran against the U.S. and any chance they have to dig at us, Roxana Saberi included, will be incorporated into their retaliation.
Looking at the bigger picture, Roxana included though not emphasized, the optimal outcome over the long haul with Iran would be some sort of paradigm shift on their part. As it stands now, everything about Iran's viewpoints are absolutely whack and this galvanization that I alluded to will only guarantee that their off-kilter ways be further embraced. If we are however able to enter into open and constructive dialog with Iran, that is the best hope for Iran to turn the corner and not be so crazy with everything they do. Diplomacy means that Iran is willing to listen and ponder various alternatives to the things that they do. And if we can get there with them and if (big if) we are able to get them to mellow out a bit, consider trying different ways of governance and even become a friendlier player on the world stage, that could and likely would be an absolute watershed moment for the Middle East and our relation to it.
People are angry over the Saberi situation, still sore over Ahmedinajad's comments about Israel and the holocaust, heck many people are probably still sore over the 444 day hostage crisis from 1979. I don't blame people for this and it's quite understandable, but lining up once again to bang their heads against the same unyielding wall by now should be a lesson in futility. Without change, this broken cycle will just continue to play itself out over and over. Tomorrow is another journalist, another hostage, another crazy batch of rhetoric. Roxana Saberi is unfortunate, but what is really sad is how without fundamental change that she won't be the last display of insanity from Iran. Maybe I'm wrong, maybe we should just go drop some more bombs in the Middle East. The success rate on that so far has been
remarkable.
Last thing, about my gender... I'm male, though I fail to see how that matters. Why do you ask?