From the inbox, interesting article.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++=

The Next Quagmire - By Chris Hedges

The most effective diplomats, like the most effective
intelligence officers and foreign correspondents, possess
empathy. They have the intellectual, cultural and
linguistic literacy to get inside the heads of those they
must analyze or cover.

They know the vast array of historical, religious, economic
and cultural antecedents that go into making up decisions
and reactions. And because of this - endowed with the
ability to communicate and more able to find ways of
resolving conflicts through diplomacy - they are less
prone to blunders.

But we live in an age where dialogue is dismissed and
empathy is suspect. We prefer the illusion that we can
dictate events through force. It hasn't worked well in
Iraq. It hasn't worked well in Afghanistan. And it won't
work in Iran.

But those who once tried to reach out and understand, who
developed expertise to explain the world to us and our-
selves to the world, no longer have a voice in the new
imperial project. We are instead governed and informed by
moral and intellectual trolls.

To make rational decisions in international relations we
must perceive how others see us. We must grasp how they
think about us and be sensitive to their fears and
insecurities. But this is becoming hard to accomplish.

Our embassies are packed with analysts whose main attribute
is long service in the armed forces and who frequently
report to intelligence agencies rather than the State
Department. Our area specialists in the State Department
are ignored by the ideologues driving foreign policy. Their
complex view of the world is an inconvenience. And foreign
correspondents are an endangered species, along with
foreign coverage.

We speak to the rest of the globe in the language of
violence. The proposed multibillion-dollar arms supply
package for the Persian Gulf countries is the newest form
of weapons-systems-as-message. U.S.

Undersecretary of State R. Nicholas Burns was rather blunt
about the deal. He told the International Herald Tribune
that the arms package "says to the Iranians and Syrians
that the United States is the major power in the Middle
East and will continue to be and is not going away."

The arrogant call for U.S. hegemony over the rest of the
globe is making enemies of a lot of people who might be
predisposed to support us, even in the Middle East. And
it is terrifying those, such as the Iraqis, Iranians and
Syrians, whom we have demonized. Empathy and knowledge,
the qualities that make real communication possible, have
been discarded. We use tough talk and big weapons deals
to communicate. We spread fear, distrust and violence.
And we expect missile systems to protect us.

"Imagine an Iranian government that was powerful, radical,
and in possession of nuclear weapons; imagine the threat
that would pose to Israel and to the American-led balance
of power, which has been so important in the Middle East
since the close of the Second World War," Burns said in a
speech at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library in
Boston last April 11. "That is our first challenge."

-----------------------------------------------------------
SHARK POWERED SCOOPER

TV Price: $39.99
OUR PRICE: $12.99 or get two or more for $9.99 each

The Shark PS380 power scooper picks up all types of house-
hold messes! Safely picks up broken glass, and is perfect
for pet messes and more.

Simply release the bag, press the button, and your mess
will be devoured directly in the bag. The unit has a built
in light for easy visibility, and features a compact
design.

Includes an attachable household extender, attachable carry
strap, and 2 rolls of biodegradable bags (we have replace-
ment bags available at the lowest price too). Check this
out at: http://pd.gophercentral.com/r/120/a/504/l/oy2gc0
<a href="http://pd.gophercentral.com/r/120/a/504/l/oy2gc0";>
SHARK POWERED SCOOPER</a>
-----------------------------------------------------------

"Our second challenge is that Iran continues to be the
central banker of Middle East terrorism," he went on. "It
is the leading funder and director of Hamas, Hezbollah,
Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and the Popular Front for the
Liberation of Palestine general command. Third, Iran is
in our judgment a major violator of the human rights of
its own people; it denies religious, political, and press
rights to the people of a very great country representing
a very great civilization.

And so we see a problem that is going to be with us for a
long time, and we are trying to fashion a strategy that
will work for the long term."

George W. Bush's latest salvo, on Aug. 28, was more of the
same. "Iran's active pursuit of technology that could lead
to nuclear weapons threatens to put a region already known
for instability and violence under the shadow of a nuclear
holocaust," he said. Bush warned that the United States
and its allies would confront Iran "before it is too late."

These kinds of words, pouring out of the administration,
send a clear message to any Iranian: You are in trouble.
Bend to our will or we destroy you. These were the same
words, with a few minor changes, that the Bush
administration delivered to Saddam Hussein, who, despite
numerous compromises, including letting the U.N. inspectors
back into his country, was overthrown and put to death
during a U.S. occupation.

And the Iranians know that without the bomb, which no
intelligence agency thinks they can produce for a few
years, they are now probably going to be attacked.

The Pentagon has reportedly drawn up plans for a series of
air strikes against 1,200 targets in Iran. The air attacks
are designed to cripple the Iranians' military capability
in three days. The Bushehr nuclear power plant, along with
targets in Saghand and Yazd, the uranium enrichment
facility in Natanz, a heavy-water plant and radioisotope
facility in Arak, the Ardekan Nuclear Fuel Unit, and the
uranium conversion facility and nuclear technology center
in Isfahan, will all probably be struck by the United
States and perhaps even Israeli warplanes.

The Tehran Nuclear Research Center, the Tehran molybdenum,
iodine and xenon radioisotope production facility, the
Tehran Jabr Ibn Hayan Multipurpose Laboratories, and the
Kalaye Electric Co. in the Tehran suburbs will also most
likely come under attack.

But then what? We don't have the troops to invade. And we
don't have anyone minding the helm who knows the slightest
thing about Persian culture or the Middle East. There is
no one in power in Washington with the empathy to get it.
We will lurch blindly into a catastrophe of our own
creation.

It is not hard to imagine what will happen. Iranian
Shabab-3 and Shabab-4 missiles, which cannot reach the
United States, will be launched at Israel, as well as
American military bases and the Green Zone in Baghdad.

Expect massive American casualties, especially in Iraq,
where Iranian agents and their Iraqi allies will be able
to call in precise coordinates. The Strait of Hormuz,
which is the corridor for 20 percent of the world's oil
supply, will be shut down. Chinese-supplied C-801 and
C-802 anti-shipping missiles, mines and coastal artillery
will target U.S. shipping, along with Saudi oil production
and oil export centers.

Oil prices will skyrocket to well over $4 a gallon. The
dollar will tumble against the euro. Hezbollah forces in
southern Lebanon, interpreting the war as an attack on all
Shiites, will fire rockets into northern Israel. Israel,
already struck by missiles from Tehran, will begin
retaliatory raids on Lebanon and Iran. Pakistan, with a
huge Shiite minority, will reach greater levels of
instability.

The unrest could result in the overthrow of the weakened
American ally President Pervez Musharraf and usher into
power Islamic radicals. Pakistan could become the first
radical Islamic state to possess a nuclear weapon. The
neat little war with Iran, which few Democrats oppose,
has the potential to ignite a regional inferno.

We have rendered the nation deaf and dumb. We no longer
have the capacity for empathy. We prefer to amuse ourselves
with trivia and gossip that pass for news rather than
understand. We are blinded by our military prowess. We
believe that huge explosions and death are an effective
form of communication. And the rest of the world is
learning to speak our language.

-----------------------------------------------------------
The author is Chris Hedges, a Pulitzer prize-winning
reporter, who was the Middle East bureau chief for The
NY Times. He spent seven years in the Middle East and
reported frequently from Iran. His latest book is
"American Fascists: The Christian Right and the War on
America."
------------------------------------------------------------

very interesting

We are blinded by our military prowess

what prowess?? all they acheive in Iragi is overthrow of Saddam.

Nigeria military junta will do this with less money, less blood and less danger to rest of the world

babasin:

very interesting

what prowess?? all they acheive in Iragi is overthrow of Saddam.

Nigeria military junta will do this with less money, less blood and less danger to rest of the world

The content in bold refers, I agree completely with that.