Iran is not the big "crisis" people say it is

There is way too much misguided chatter these days about the Iran "crisis" and how big a threat Iran and its "nuclear ambitions" are to "America" (or "American Interests").

For the most part, the "crisis" is an invention of the infamous, so-called "Pro-Israel Lobby". AIPAC made a big stink about Iran ("Now is the time to stop Iran") back at its big annual convention in Washingtonl, D.C. in March and really stirred up the pot, but many (most) right-wing Christian politicians, plus a fair number of liberal opportunistic politicians all have jumped on the same "Stop Iran" bandwagon. Nuclear weapons are only the latest or most popular "club" that these guys are trying to use to goad everybody into ganging up on Iran. Sad to say, but the Clintons and Senator Joe Lieberman, and quite a few liberals who should know better are also part of "The Pro-Israel Lobby", far too willing to support positions that are more in sync with Israel's policies (or sources of political campaign contributions) than the interests of the vast majority of citizens living here in the United States. The "liberation" of Iraq is a perfect example of how bad things can get when a lobby pursues "interests" that are *not* aligned with the interests of all Americans.

An editorial in the NY Times entitled "Wanted: Scarier Intelligence" says:

... the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, Peter Hoekstra of Michigan, released a garishly illustrated and luridly written document that is ostensibly dedicated to “helping the American people understand” that Iran’s fundamentalist regime and its nuclear ambitions pose a strategic threat to the United States.

It’s hard to imagine that Mr. Hoekstra believes there is someone left in this country who does not already know that.

I hate to break the news to the NY Times, but their claim is false, unless they are implying that a citizen such as myself is not a "someone." Yes, Iran *is* a concern, but *not* rising to the level of "posing" a "strategic threat". The only strategic threat here is the mind-numbingly misguided policies that the U.S. is promoting in the Middle East (and elsewhere).

This is still a free country, and these prople are entitled to peddle their pet foreign policy objectives, but I do object to all of the intellectual dishonesty. Put simply, Iran, even a nuclear-armed Iran, is *not* a security threat the the Unites States. I'm not even so sure that a nuclear-armed Iran would even be a significant threat to Israel. After all, Israel does have its own nuke arsenal and more than enough weapons to deter Iran.

Yes, Iran raises a number of "concerns", but *none* are at the "crisis" level.

Whether the misguided foreign policies of the Bush administration might have the desire or result of *inciting* a violent or painful confrontation with Iran is of course a separate issue, but Iran itself (with or without nukes) is *not* the *cause* for such a posible crisis.

-- Jack Krupansky