If Only American Politicians Were As Rational As Iranian Politicians

Featured on the left is Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and on the right is former US President George W. Bush

In an effort to push America into war, politicians and news commentators often proclaim that the Iranian government is irrational and therefore can not be trusted with a nuclear program. The facts prove a very different story however. Iran hasn’t attacked another sovereign nation in centuries, and have stated on the record that they have no intention of doing so. They believe it would be too American and immoral to commit an unprovoked attack on another people. Politicians and news commentators often purposely misquote Iranian President Ahmadinejad about his comments to “wipe Israel off the map” in an effort to discredit him. Every time a pro-war American congressman speaks the name Ahmadinejad they say, “he is a dictator who says he wants to destroy Israel.” Neither of these statements are true of course, and I challenge anyone to find an actual quote of Ahmadinejad saying such a thing. To the contrary, the Iranian President often hosts conventions,with Jews in attendance, to discuss issues like the holocaust and zionism; rather than throwing people in prison for academically studying the historical event, as has happened in Europe.

The American media has misled the public into thinking that the Iranian government is a tyranny or dictatorship. In reality, Iran has a constitution which provides for a democratically elected parliament, President, and Supreme leader. The President, Ahmadinejad, is subject to the duly elected Supreme leader Ali Khamenei, and is therefore no dictator. Judging by recent history, one could argue that Iran is more democratic than the United States. A democracy is usually tested when non-mainstream candidates seek election, and in Iran, non-mainstream candidates just won an election while in the United States there have been at least two documented cases of voter fraud aimed at keeping the one non-mainstream candidate, Ron Paul, from winning the republican nomination (See this article for details). The history of American voter fraud dates back, at least, to the Bush/Gore debacle which embarrassed America in front of the international community. On a side note, the “brutal” Iranian regime imprisons 2.5 times fewer people than America on a per capita basis.

If these facts were not enough to convince most Americans that Iran is a rational actor, just ask the former head of Mossad, Meir Dagan, who recently told CNN that the Iranian government and its President, Ahmadinejad, are rational. This is coming from a man who has no love for the Iranian people and even favored murdering innocent Iranian nuclear scientists. The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Dempsey, also stated in a CNN interview that there is no evidence that Iran is seeking a nuclear weapon and that the Iranian government is a rational actor.

The American government on the other hand has proven to be anything but rational in the past decade. Take irrational American Senators Joseph Lieberman and John McCain for example, who pushed for a war in Iraq, and now want more disastrous wars in Syria and Iran. Rather than resigning from office after shamefully championing an internationally illegal war with Iraq, these politicians are now determined to prove to the world that they have learned absolutely nothing from their previous mistakes. Like Iraq, Iran poses no significant threat to America. Regardless of what the American media claims, there is absolutely no evidence that Iran wants to procure nuclear weapons. Iran has stated on record that they believe the acquisition of a nuclear weapon to be a great sin. One could argue however that Iran, a peaceful nation that hasn’t invaded another country in more than 100 years, should have a nuclear weapon given their proximity to the militarily aggressive apartheid state of Israel, which possesses 300 nuclear weapons. It has recently come to light that Israel has been financing terrorist organizations like the Mujahedin, and could conceivably give them a nuclear weapon to attack Iran.

As if a war with Iran is not enough, these American politicians are simultaneously campaigning for a war with Syria. In making their case for intervention, irrational American politicians draw similarities to the “successful” intervention in Libya, which most security experts have now proclaimed to be a complete disaster. International intervention in Libya took a peaceful, prosperous country that was coming into line with international law and  fractionalized it. Civil war is now on the horizon in Libya and reports have surfaced that radical elements are taking power and committing far greater human rights abuses than had ever taken place under Gaddafi. As Einstein said, “the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”

Each and every cruise missile fired by the American military costs $1 million and creates resentment that will most likely lead to terrorist attacks in the future. Isn’t it irrational to keep firing hundreds of these missiles while so many Americans are living in poverty and unemployed? The trillions of dollars spent in Iraq and Afghanistan could have been used to pay down the debt or even give Americans medical care. Instead, that money was used to bomb Iraq. And for what benefit? America definitely isn’t going to get oil security out of it. Iraq has been distancing itself from America since the day of the official troop withdrawal. Americans and their allies aren’t safer, that’s for sure. For a fraction of the war costs the US could have built a pipeline from Canada and invested in natural gas which would have made America completely energy independent of the Middle East.

Given the large American debt, deficit, entitlements, and high unemployment it would be incredibly irrational for the US to perpetrate another war for Israel’s security. Especially when the proposed war is with a country that produces vast quantities of oil. Just the warmongering rhetoric from Israel and the American media alone now costs the average American $1,476 per year in increased gas prices. If America actually invades Iran the estimated cost to Americans will increase another $2952-$4428 per year.(see  this article for a breakdown). World renowned economist Nouriel Roubini has warned that an invasion would be catastrophic for the American economy. Clearly the American politicians swaying the nation’s foreign policy towards war are not rational actors.