It’s Gone! For now…

Last week, President Barack Obama issued new guidelines for the National Defense Authorization Act of 2012. In short, the new guidelines waive the most controversial piece of the bill: indefinite detention. The guidelines also waived the application to law-abiding American citizens.

(Yay! Everyone Cheer!)

Now, let me put the brakes on your excitement.  The new rules apply only while President Obama resides in office. Which means, unless repealed, indefinite detention for American citizens will be in full effect come January 2013 or 2017.

In 2007, President Obama campaigned on closing Guantanamo Bay. Come 2012, not only has Obama not closed Gitmo, he has expanded its controversial policies to apply to everyone in the world.

Which leaves one wondering why Obama would sign NDAA, as it was written, into effect? He could have vetoed the bill and sent it back to the Congress for revision, but he chose not to. To add to the confusion, he has now revoked only his own authority to utilize them. This means one of two things:

1. Obama never intended on closing Gitmo, doesn’t care about our Constitutional rights as American citizens, and only waived indefinite detention during his presidency for political reasons.

2. Obama was forced into signing NDAA as it was written and waived indefinite detention during his presidency because he truly disagrees with it. (But has no backbone)

Either way, don’t let the shades be pulled over your eyes. The threat is still alive and well.

Going Rogue on Iran

Israel came out this week, declaring that it will not seek the approval of the United States to cast a preemptive strike against Iran. In fact, they will not even warn the U.S. of such plans to execute such a mission.

Though, I do not support such an attack, on the grounds of lack of physical proof of a weapons program, Iran’s recent cooperation, the argument of national sovereignty and the question of whether or not Iran is an inherent threat to other countries, I respect the sovereignty of Israel and believe they should make foreign policy decisions without U.S. influence.

Israel’s rebellion against the U.S. is not very common for recent history. As the largest recipient of U.S. foreign aid in the world, Israel is expected to run most foreign policy decisions through the U.S. prior to any action. Since the effort against Iran obtaining a nuclear weapon is a mutual one, this rings true even more so.

As a close ally to the United States, it is most assuredly so, that the U.S. will get involved in any war between Israel and Iran. However, if Israel instigates war, through preemptive attacks without U.S. approval, will the U.S. be obligated to support its ally through military and/or financial support?  Or better yet, should we?

If you compare this situation to that of other countries, then it would be most obvious that the U.S. should cut off foreign aid to Israel, in the event that it defies our orders. Take Egpyt, for instance. Just last week, the U.S. threatened to cut off $1.5 billion dollars in aid to Egpyt due to the prosecution of U.S. aid workers in the region. We’ve cut off aid to Pakistani military units for suspicion of killing unarmed prisoners. We’ve threatened, on numerous occasions, to cut off aid to the Palestinian people for their negotiations with Hamas and to Afghanistan for corruption investigations.

The chances of us cutting off aid to Israel is near non-existent. Instead, the opposite is likely- the U.S. will pull up their boot straps, sling their guns over their shoulders and march to the front of the line. One has to ask, however, why is this so, and what kind of message does this send the rest of the world?

Hypocrisy.

It solidifies radical Arab conspiracies about the U.S. and Israel: that our support is unconditional; that the Israeli lobby controls Washington; that we’re unprincipled.

If Israel wants to attack Iran, it is their sovereign right. In the event of that occurring against U.S. approval, it is our obligation to our own citizens and reputation in the rest of the world, that we step aside and let them fight their battle.

It’s not like Israel doesn’t have the weaponry or finances to do so.

The Human Side of Iran

A friend of mine on Facebook, recently linked to this photo:

I figured it must have been some sort of joke, but curiosity got the best of me, and I decided to check out the website for myself.

Luckily, it was a joke. However, there is also a very serious component to this website. War. Though, Iran has been willing to talk about its nuclear program with U.N. officials and other world leaders, and there has been warnings against preemptive strikes, in the popular media (e.g. here and here), Israel still appears to be on the brink of an attack, which would assuredly lead to U.S. involvement.

I think most of us can agree, that the last thing the U.S. needs is another war, especially one with Iran. Part of that reason is because we stay informed via the internet. The majority of the country, however, gets their news from television, where the war propaganda is prevalent and threatening. Their mission to de-humanize Iran and make it appear to be a country of fundamentalist savages that want nothing more than to destroy the west. Travelers to Iran, however, depict a different side of the country. A side the media does not make known. The human side.

BombIran.org links to a great documentary by Rick Steves, where he gets into the thick of the country. The greenery, the streets filled with people, the beautiful architecture, the smiling schoolchildren, the local businesses, and the families who go about their everyday like most Americans. (watch the documentary here)

This isn’t the first time I’ve been surprised by the normality of this country. Back in December, I was directed to a link that showed pictures of Iranians celebrating Christmas. I was amazed. The pictures look like they could have been taken in New York City, or any other downtown. You see people window shopping, buying gift wrapping paper, prepping their stores, and children leering through the windows of toy shops. I thought to myself, ‘I consider myself to be a relatively informed individual, and this is not even what I was expecting!’. (see the pictures here)

A question you should be asking yourself is, “Why?”. Why are these images surprising to us? If you were told these pictures were taken in India or South Africa, would that surprise you? Probably not. Have you ever been to either of those countries to know firsthand? Probably not. But when it comes to Iran or other countries in this region, we are conditioned to believe that normalcy is non-existent. Why? Because it makes it easier for us to attack them.

I am not here to say that Iran has a good and just government. I am not here to say they are always well-intentioned, either.  What I am here to say, is that their country consists of people…like you and me. That there is a human side to war, that we may not always be exposed to, for a reason.

Thankfully, people are starting to take notice. Just last year, film makers from Iran created a drama that shows the human side of Iran. The film, “A Separation”, has gained worldwide notoriety, being nominated for, or winning, dozens of awards, including those at the Golden Globes, in which it won Best Foreign Language Film and the upcoming Academy Awards, in which it is nominated for two awards. One can only hope, with films like these and documentaries like Rick Steves’, that we come to the realization that our actions affect other humans, like us, and that we start turning to diplomacy, instead of war, in dealing with Iran and all other countries of the world.

On a lighter note, Bomb Bomb Iran.

Vs.

While I hate to pretend that only these two extremes exist, I enjoyed this depiction of the left and right.