Soob

Painful. Stepping on a rusty nail or slamming your shin against a particularly sharp corner of a coffee table. You swear, jump up and down like a baboon on crack and then pull the offending nail out or look daggers at an obviously smug piece of living room furniture.

Worse than painful. The American Foreign Policy Councils recent advertising blitz. Heres a sample:

The nuclear clock is ticking… and time is running out.

Iran is the world's largest state sponsor of terrorism - supporting attacks that have killed hundreds of Americans.

An Iranian group boasts 25,000 members who are ready to become suicide bombers in the US and Europe.

Now, in violation of the UN, Iran is developing a dangerous nuclear capability[4] and has threatened to share it with others.

Stand up for peace. Call the White House and tell them to enforce sanctions against Iran today.

(Thanks to Armchair Generalist for the above story and his analysis.)

1) However insidious it’s tactics Hezbollah is no Al Qaeda. AFPC apparently hasn’t deigned to investigate nor understand the motivation of each organization, nor do they grasp the sectarian divide that exists between the two. While the Hezbollah (or Hamas) ideology is one part religious and two parts nationalistic AQ maintains an apocalyptic vision. AFPC fails to grasp perhaps the most important principle of conflict: Know thine enemy.

2) In humping their apparent foray into Iran the AFPC offers the wisdom of adhering to official international (UN) mandate. First, the US should never put international mandate above her own interests. Period. Second, the AFPC use of the international mandate angle is complete shit given the invasion of Iraq and the essential lack of (UN) “international support“ we garnished.. It’s glitter. Shiny, attractive, but essentially worthless. A convenient truth, if you will.

2a) It is not in the interest of the US to either invade or otherwise strike Iran. The quickest route to converting pro-democracy moderates to nationalist “insurgents?” Bomb their country. Whatever progress the US has made with the populace of Iran will be essentially erased. I won't even go into the global economic or diplomatic aspect. Well, maybe a little: China.

3) The AFPC apparently doesn’t understand the current state of affairs in Iran. Domestic satisfaction with Ahmadinijad isn’t exactly along the lines of “Jeez we love him!” The Bearded Sages have shortened ole Ahms term by 18 months and are very likely not at all pleased with the prospect of two US aircraft carriers off their shores. His rhetoric, ill conceived holocaust “conference” and the aggressive US reaction might well end his “Presidency.” None of this phases the AFPC. Bomb now ask questions later. Right?

4) The AFPC conveniently fails to detail the circumstance in which even a fully nuclear Iran presents a danger to the US. What means do they possess for delivery purposes? Who, exactly, will they "share" their knowledge? Nuclear proliferation isn't exactly Aunt Wilma's recipe for great fucking meat pie. What state will Iran boast it's innovations to? And spare me the "terrorists explode briefcase nuke" scenario. Terrorists already have access to the knowledge to build a nuke in the US. What they lack are the resources. Nothing new here.

I’m not much for ideologues or alarmists. Their frenetic meanderings tend to fall on and absorb into the least aware (largest portion) of the populace. Most people haven’t got the time much less the will to fully investigate such matters. The splattering of such shortsighted assertions as the AFPC have deigned to put in print is worrying and wrong. Shame, shame.