THE political divide and acrimonious relationship between the United States and Iran do not need further stoking as escalation could only lead to a military showdown whose winner cannot easily be predicted.
What can safely be predicted though is that all countries in the world, including Namibia, would suffer the consequences of a war between the two countries, just as in the case of Iraq. And just like in Iraq, the strength of the US could prove to be its main weakness.
If there are lessons to be learned from the Iraq debacle, it is that wars are never won easily. It is easy to initiate war and difficult to win peace. That is the underlying lesson from the Iraq quagmire.
Four years after the fall of Saddam Hussein and one year after his death by hanging, the US is still at war largely against Iraqis who have chosen to resist occupation. That war is far from being won.
Similarly, Hiroshima and Nagasaki and Vietnam lessons are further proof that today’s wars are destructive. They inflict pain on both the victor and the vanquished.
The question therefore is can the world afford another military conflict and in whose interest would such conflict be.
Recently, various officials from the United States including President George W Bush, his number two Dick Cheney and a number of serving generals have upped the stakes with threats of war against Iran.
Bush has talked about a third world war in reference to a possible conflict with Iran. His hard line and neo-conservative vice-president has vowed Iran will never be allowed to possess a nuclear bomb. He has warned of serious consequences for Iran should it persist with its nuclear ambitions. Journalist Seymour Hersch has published an article on US plans and preparations for a possible war with Iran.
The first shots in this cold war between the United States and Iran have been fired with the recent designation of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards or Quds Force as a terrorist unit. The designation is accompanied by a package of new sanctions that targets the Guards, Iran’s Defence Ministry and several banks that do business with the Guards.
The move is unprecedented. There is an inherent danger in designating a branch of a government that is a member of the United Nations and other international bodies as terrorist let alone the abuse of the term terrorism.
The new French President Nicholas Sarkozy and his foreign minister who seem to want to be seen to be closer to Washington than the previous government under Jacques Chirac have not helped the situation.
Sarkozy seemingly wants to imitate Tony Blair by becoming Washington’s closest ally and a blind follower of the US. He too has hinted at a possible conflict with Iran over its nuclear programme.
The world must wake up to the danger of a possible US attack on Iran.
Powerful nations like Russia and China must draw a line in the sand to say NOT anymore while the United Nations, the world’s guarantor of peace must speak up. European countries like Britain, France and Germany who pride themselves as US allies must stop behaving as if they were made in America for America. The churches and other voices of moral conscience must for humanity sake talk Bush into realising the madness that is war.
Bush cannot be trusted to work towards resolving the Iran nuclear dispute peacefully. When a man like him starts talking about a third world war that should serve as a wake up call. He has been humiliated enough in Iraq to maintain his cool.
The United States, without a single shred of proof, is accusing Iran of working on an arms nuclear programme and this, from a country that has the most lethal nuclear stockpiles, the only country in the world to have nuked another country.
But everybody knows why the Iran drumbeating. It is all about Israel. Poor Turkey is only learning now that its relationship with the US is not everything.
When Hezbollah fighters captured two Israeli soldiers in Lebanon more than a year ago, the US gave open support for Israel’s military adventure into Lebanon partly to rescue their men. It is now Turkey’s turn to rescue its eight captured soldiers from the PKK. But look at what Big Brother is saying – NO.