Inside Syria: The Backstory of Their Civil War and What the World Can Expect by Reese Erlich & Noam Chomsky

Author:Reese Erlich & Noam Chomsky [Erlich, Reese & Chomsky, Noam]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Non-Fiction, History, Middle East, Syria, Politics & Social Sciences, Politics & Government, International & World Politics, Middle Eastern, Specific Topics, National & International Security, Relations
ISBN: 9781616149499
Amazon: B00JNPF5HG
Publisher: Prometheus Books
Published: 2014-10-06T23:00:00+00:00

We are committed not to work toward developing and producing a nuclear bomb. As enunciated in the fatwa issued by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, we strongly believe that the development, production, stockpiling, and use of nuclear weapons are contrary to Islamic norms. We never even contemplated the option of acquiring nuclear weapons, because we believe that such weapons could undermine our national-security interests; as a result, they have no place in Iran's security doctrine. Even the perception that Iran may develop nuclear weapons is detrimental to our security and overall national interest.39

But even such unequivocal statements weren't enough for American and Israeli right-wingers. Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu denounced the agreement, claiming Iran couldn't be trusted. The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), the main pro-Israel lobbying group in the United States, initially opposed the agreement and later sought to increase sanctions on Iran in an effort to scuttle a final settlement.40 Israel continued to favor a military attack on Iran to overthrow the regime.

While basing their arguments on Iran's supposed nuclear threat, in reality the right wing feared that the agreement would undercut their ability to attack Iran for supporting Syria and Hezbollah and unravel their justification for regime change in Iran. In their view, the agreement signals US weakness in the face of an implacable enemy.

Weakening of US power in the region creates a “power vacuum,” according to STRATFOR, a think tank located in Austin, Texas, that analyzes geopolitical issues. “The potential for Iran to control a sphere of influence from western Afghanistan to the Mediterranean is a prospect that not only frightens regional players such as Israel, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey, but also raises serious concerns in the United States.”41

The hardliners in Iran make much the same argument—but in reverse. If Iran concedes on the nuclear issue, they argue, Iran will appear weak and lose its influence in the region. So the nuclear issue has taken on a political dimension in Iran well beyond the need for more electric power.

Initially, Iranian authorities argued that Iran needed to diversify its sources of electric power. Iran relies too much on oil-burning power plants, an inefficient method of electric power generation, given that Iran's oil reserves are in decline. That was the reason cited by the US government in the 1970s when it arranged for US nuclear energy companies to sell reactors to the Shah.42 Iran's oil reserves have continued to decline since then.

But why is nuclear power a better solution? Particularly in the wake of the Fukushima disaster in Japan, nuclear power is known to be unsafe and extremely expensive. I put the question to Sayed Mohammad Marandi, associate professor, Faculty of World Studies, at the University of Tehran. Nuclear power is “an issue of sovereignty now,” he told me. “When the United States says you can't do it, we will pursue it to the end.” He echoed the arguments of hard-liners in Tehran who said Western sanctions spurred defiance during the eight years of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's presidency.

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