tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-100896502024-03-17T20:02:57.366-07:00Culture and International AffairsThis is the Blog for William O. Beeman, Professor and Chair of Anthropology and specialist in Middle East Studies at the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis-St. Paul Minnesota, formerly of Brown University. It includes current publications on Middle Eastern affairs, especially Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan and the Persian Gulf region; anthropology; linguistics; performance; opera; things Japanese and Central Asian. Email: wbeeman@umn.eduWilliam O. Beemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06410196700886326533noreply@blogger.comBlogger407125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10089650.post-29078861063039895162022-09-16T16:27:00.001-07:002022-09-16T16:27:50.753-07:00William O. Beeman: Europe is Steadfact in Restricting Petroleum Imports from Russia https://www.tahlilbazaar.com/news/174668/Professor-Beeman-Europe-is-steadfast-in-restricting-petroleum
Professor Beeman: Europe is steadfast in restricting petroleum imports from Russia
TEHRAN(Bazaar) – William O. Beeman, Professor Emeritus of University of Minnesota, says Europe is steadfast in restricting petroleum imports from Russia.
He adds: “It is not clear what will happen later this year when the need for fuel is much greater.”
Following is the text of the Bazaar interview with Professor William O. Beeman.
Q: Poll results indicate a decrease in Biden's popularity. What are the reasons for his decline in popularity?
A: Actually, that is not true. President Biden's approval ratings have been increasing. They are still below what would be "safe" for the midterm elections. His recent legislative successes and fiery speeches attacking "MAGA" (Trump) Republicans have resulted in rising approval.
https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/biden-approval-rating/
Q: What role will the US congressional elections play in Biden's future? If the Democratic Party loses in this election, is it possible to lose in future presidential elections?
A: Congressional elections are crucial. If Republicans capture the House of Representatives, they will immediately launch all kinds of hearings and attacks on the President and his family. The investigation into the January 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol will be canceled, and no Democratic legislation will pass, making any effective legislation impossible. The chances for Republicans in the Senate are far less positive. The Republicans have nominated a number of very bad candidates. They may still win, but their chances are slim. If Democrats retain the Senate at least Biden will be able to get his judicial appointments approved. If Republicans capture both the Senate and the House, no legislation will move forward for the next two years, and no appointments will be approved. In effect, the government will stop dead.
Q: Due to the increasing trend of inflation in America, the Federal Reserve has increased the interest rate to curb it. This would mean a recession in the US economy. What are the effects of this issue in the medium and long term for America?
A: Thus far there is no recession. Unemployment is still very low, and economists have mixed opinions as to whether a recession is expected. However, both inflation and recession are very bad for Democrats, and they still will have a big effect on the election.
Q: According to the current trend, what is your prediction of oil and gas prices this fall and winter?
A: Right now, oil and gas prices are falling. They usually rise in the winter because of the need for heating oil and electricity generation, increasingly coming from natural gas. The question is: will gas prices be low enough not to be a factor in the November elections. If gas prices remain low until then, they will have a smaller effect on voter enthusiasm. And in the United States where "turnout" for the midterm elections is very low, it is as important as possible to get Democrats to the polls to vote for President Biden and his party.
Q: What is the effect of lack of energy in winter in the process of war between Russia and Ukraine? Is it possible for Europe to give concessions to Russia?
A: Right now, Europe is steadfast in restricting petroleum imports from Russia. It is not clear what will happen later this year when the need for fuel is much greater.William O. Beemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06410196700886326533noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10089650.post-65710529367380845932022-03-11T12:07:00.004-08:002022-03-11T12:15:45.573-08:00West views Ukraine more favorably than Yemen--William O. Beeman <a href="https://www.tehrantimes.com/news/470780/West-views-Ukraine-more-favorably-than-Yemen-academic">https://www.tehrantimes.com/news/470780/West-views-Ukraine-more-favorably-than-Yemen-academic</a><br><br>
West views Ukraine more favorably than Yemen: academic<br><br>
By Mohammad Mazhari<br><br>
International<br><br>
March 7, 2022 - 15:23<br><br>
THRAN – An American academic says that Western powers regard the Ukraine crisis more favorably for assistance than Yemen or Afghanistan.<br><br>
“Unfortunately, Europeans and Americans are viewing the Ukrainian situation more favorably for aid and assistance than Yemen or Afghanistan,” William O. Beeman tells the Tehran Times.<br><br>
“Some claim that this is due to the inherent racist or Islamophobic tendencies in Europe and the United States. There is no question that Ukraine is seen as White and Christian (President Zelensky is, however, the only international Jewish head of state outside of Israel),” Beeman adds.<br><br>
Following is the text of the interview:<br><br>
Q: Some political pundits like John Mearsheimer believe that Ukraine could be neutral and get rid of the West-Russia competition. But what happened is that Ukraine entered the competition. What is your comment?<br><br>
A: It appears to be too late for Ukraine to remain both neutral and independent of the Russia-Euro American competition. Zelensky has already asked the EU for membership and has requested NATO membership. The only thing that Putin would accept is for Zelensky to be removed and some pro-Moscow puppet be put in his place, as in Belarus. Putin wants to recreate the Russian Empire, and "unite all Slavic people." His position is that Ukraine is a "fake country" created by Lenin/Stalin and is really part of Greater Russia. And as for neutrality, with even perpetually neutral Finland and Sweden now considering joining NATO, that ship has sailed.<br><br>
Q: How do you see reactions of the American public to the Ukraine war? Apparently, some Republicans, particularly Trump, praise Putin.<br><br>
A: Part of the American public listens to former president Trump and right-wing media such as Fox News. Commentator Tucker Carlson has been rooting for Russia, and there is a segment of the American population that follows this line of thinking without much real examination of the issues. However, recent polls show that more than 80% of the American public does not support Putin's actions, and many say they would be willing to pay more for energy if it would stop Putin's invasion.<br><br>
Q: What is America's record when we talk about respecting sovereignty?<br><br>
Is there a good invasion and a bad invasion? For example, when America invades Iraq it is reasonable but when other countries do the same thing it is a violation of international law?<br><br>
A: The United States has a terrible record when it comes to honoring the sovereignty of other nations. Over decades the United States has been involved in efforts of regime change in many nations including Latin America, the Middle East (West Asia), and Southeast Asia. Many of these actions before the fall of the Soviet Union were aimed at Cold War containment of "Communism". More recently actions directed at Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, and Syria were directly aimed at regime change or regime support. So, in purely historical terms, the United States doesn't have much room to lecture other nations about the morality of hegemony.<br><br>
Q: How may the Ukraine crisis affect the Vienna talks?<br><br>
A: If the JCPOA is restored and sanctions against Iran are lifted-especially sanctions against oil and natural gas exports, it would greatly relieve petroleum scarcity in the world market. Iran has a large stockpile of unsold petroleum products that could be immediately released. Iran's oil export capacity could meet 1/3 of all European needs for oil. So resolving the JCPOA would be a huge benefit for Europe and the United States in its conflict with Russia. It would also help curb the current worldwide inflation not only by reducing the price of oil but by opening Iran with 84 million people to the world market.<br><br>
Q: The Ukraine war reminds us of other wars in the region like the war on Yemen. What can we learn when we see different approaches to these wars?<br><br>
A: Unfortunately, Europeans and Americans are viewing the Ukrainian situation more favorably for aid and assistance than Yemen or Afghanistan. Some claim that this is due to the inherent racist or Islamophobic tendencies in Europe and the United States. There is no question that Ukraine is seen as White and Christian (President Zelensky is, however, the only international Jewish head of state outside of Israel). And that seems to be a factor in driving aid to Ukraine as opposed to other countries where help is needed.<br><br>
William O. Beemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06410196700886326533noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10089650.post-21599539745874832002021-12-04T10:26:00.002-08:002022-03-11T12:13:41.161-08:00May the Vienna Talks Push Iran to Seek Completely Independent Directions? (William O. Beeman)
<a href="https://icdt.ir/en/may-the-vienna-talks-push-iran-to-seek-completely-independent-directions/">https://icdt.ir/en/may-the-vienna-talks-push-iran-to-seek-completely-independent-directions/</a><br><br>
May the Vienna Talks Push Iran to Seek Completely Independent Directions?<br><br>
William O. Beeman <br><br>
I am pessimistic about the outcome of the new round of Vienna talks. Both sides are completely intransigent, and have been for a long time. Both sides want the other party to back down and make concessions before they will move. Iran insists on all sanctions being lifted. The United States insists on Iran returning to the status before Trump withdrew from the JCPOA–both reduced enrichment of uranium, and return to full IAEA inspections. With neither side giving an inch, there can be no progress. The key to success is to agree to have action simultaneously. This will require a brokered solution with a third party operating in good faith with both Iran and the United States.<br><br>
I do not believe all parties are serious about returning to the JCPOA. President Biden is suffering from a drop in popularity. He cannot make concessions to Iran without suffering politically. The slightest concession will result in vicious attacks from Republicans, led by former President Trump. The Republicans are just waiting for this, waiting to pounce on President Biden. Iran’s new government does not want to appear weak vis-a-vis the United States, and so they are also not making any concessions. They also fear, quite correctly, that they will make concessions, and then the United States will not respond. This is what happened many times in the past. The United States always wants to blame Iran, but it is a simple fact that President Trump withdrew the United States from the JCPOA. It is not Iran’s fault. So, I think Iran is making a correct assumption about the unreliability of the United States when it comes to guarantees.<br><br>
According to some reports, the current impasse is not due to an Iranian sense of immunity to pressure; rather it is largely because President Biden is refusing to commit his administration to lift sanctions on Iran during the remaining years of his presidency, even if Iran fully complies with the nuclear deal. If President Biden’s popularity recovers and the Democratic Party shows strength in the next year, he will be in a stronger position to negotiate with Iran. For now being “tough” on Iran is a much better political position for him domestically.<br><br>
The United States has been demonizing Iran since the time of the Iranian Revolution of 1978-79. There is absolutely no political value for either Democrats or Republicans in making concessions to Iran. No American politician ever lost a vote by attacking Iran. American politicians of either party who seem to be “soft” on Iran are attacked immediately. It is political suicide to agree to Iran’s terms without obtaining something substantial in return.<br><br>
Some critics say the nuclear dispute is not resolvable through technical discussions. This is a political issue that is rooted in distrust between the U.S. and Iran. So, they need mutual trust. The JCPOA took nearly two years to negotiate with a great deal of yelling and shouting. The United States is not a trustworthy treaty or agreement partner. Iran has also used the lever of uranium enrichment to increase or decrease pressure on the United States and its European partners in the JCPOA. So both sides can be accused of acting in bad faith. Trust can only be built when people actually adhere to their promises.<br><br>
Europe could be a much stronger, much more effective mediator in these talks. Thus far the European partners in the JCPOA have been very weak–almost non-existent in these talks. I would love to see France, the UK, or Germany step up and become a forceful mediator in these talks. Thus far they have been completely cowardly–mostly because they fear that they will suffer sanctions from the United States if they show the slightest favoritism to Iran.<br><br>
Iran is already moving toward leaving the economic sphere of the United States and Europe. The move toward China, India, and Russia is a very clear direction for Iran’s future now. Without any cooperation from the United States in negotiations, and without any positive action toward mediation from Europe, we may see Iran seeking completely independent directions to solve its economic difficulties. The United States will regret this if it happens.<br><br>
William O. Beemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06410196700886326533noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10089650.post-25434319507462506992021-11-21T09:42:00.003-08:002022-03-11T12:14:50.121-08:00U.S. and Iran are Playing for Time--Interview with Professor William O. Beeman (Bazaar) Professor Beeman: U.S. and Iran are playing for time<br><br>
TEHRAN(Bazaar) – William O. Beeman, Professor Emeritus of University of Minnesota, says Both the United States and Iran are playing for time. President Biden has suffered a dramatic drop in popularity in the United States.<br><br>
Following is the text of the Bazaar interview with Professor William O. Beeman.<br><br>
Bazaar: Axios has stated that the United States is seeking an interim agreement with Iran in order to gain the necessary time to negotiate a better agreement. What is your assessment of the solution?<br><br>
Beeman: Both the United States and Iran are playing for time. President Biden has suffered a dramatic drop in popularity in the United States. With mid-term elections coming up next year, his administration is very cautious about negotiating an agreement with Iran that will be attacked by Republicans as showing "weakness" on the part of the United States. The first person to launch that attack will be former president Trump, who still has a large number of followers. On Iran's part, Iran is seeking to avoid a negative censure on the part of the IAEA, and so is playing for time until the next IAEA report. Iranian leaders are feeling more confident about their bargaining position with increased diplomatic and trade ties with China and Russia. They are increasingly sending signals that they may not need the United States or Western economies to survive the current economic crisis in Iran.<br><br>
Bazaar: Three American and Israeli sources told Axios that US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, in a meeting with his Israeli counterpart, came up with the idea of reaching an interim agreement with Iran to allow time for nuclear talks. Why is this idea put forward by a European country currently being considered by the United States?<br><br>
Beeman: It is a stalling tactic made to look like progress is being made. The United States wants to continue to appear to be moving forward with these agreements while not making any concessions to Iran. The idea of an "interim agreement" will not be accepted by Iran unless there are significant reductions in sanctions.<br><br>
Bazaar: According to US sources, such an idea means that in the face of a halt to 60 percent enrichment in Iran, the United States and its allies would release some of Iran's blocked funds to provide sanctions exemptions for humanitarian goods. Given that nuclear progress is Iran's bargaining chip to lift all sanctions, will Iran accept the offer?<br><br>
Beeman: Sanctions exemptions for humanitarian goods are already in place. They simply are not being implemented. The amount of Iranian blocked funds is insignificant. On the other hand, Iran is not actually engaging in a nuclear weapons program, so increase or decrease in enrichment activity is being used as a mechanism to increase or decrease pressure on the United States with no actual meaningful consequence. So we see that both sides are playing a kind of Kabuki theater game with the other side promising some kind of action, but actually delivering nothing of any consequence.<br><br>
Bazaar: This is still an immature idea, and the Biden administration continues to insist that the 2015 nuclear deal be fully revived, but given the plan to resume nuclear talks on November 29, the proposal would at least provide an opportunity for U.S. government work on it. What is the benefit of this interim agreement for the United States and will it satisfy its allies as well?<br><br>
Beeman: Yes, the Biden administration wants to show that it is strong diplomatically--Biden has made diplomacy a hallmark of his foreign relations policy--and so it has come up with this interim agreement device to demonstrate progress. It is unlikely, however, that Iranian officials will be willing to do anything at all without reduction in sanctions. As I stated above, humanitarian exemptions to the sanctions already exist, so the United States is really promising nothing except a willingness to actually implement the exemptions. Iranian officials will accept nothing short of meaningful action, and the "interim agreement" as leaked to the press is much to limited and weak to be effective.<br><br>
Bazaar: What is your assessment of the International Atomic Energy Agency's new report about Iran before the start of the nuclear talks?<br><br>
Beeman: The IAEA Report is similar to previous ones, expressing mild concern about restrictions on monitoring activity. But the current report could have been much, much harsher. The fact that Iran agreed to resume talks on renewing the JCPOA in November has blunted the IAEA criticism, which seems to have been the main purpose of the Iranian agreement to continue negotiations. It should be noted that the IAEA report emphasizes that communication between Iranian officials and the IAEA have continued and have been characterized by words such as "cooperative" and "constructive." This shows that the IAEA is interested in creating a positive atmosphere for continued engagement with Iran.<br><br>
https://www.tahlilbazaar.com/news/118654/Professor-Beeman-U-S-and-Iran-are-playing-for-time<br><br>
William O. BeemanWilliam O. Beemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06410196700886326533noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10089650.post-1743956655159338292021-09-26T11:19:00.001-07:002021-09-26T11:29:38.855-07:00American Withdrawal from Afghanistan: Historical Lessons--William O. Beeman9/26/21, 10:46 AM
<b>American Withdrawal from Afghanistan: Historical Lessons</b> | ICDT<br>
<a href="https://icdt.ir/en/american-withdrawal-from-afghanistan-historical-lessons/">https://icdt.ir/en/american-withdrawal-from-afghanistan-historical-lessons/</a> <br><br>
William O. Beeman<br><br>
21 September 2021<br><br>
The result of the war on Afghanistan was ineffective because the United States was not prepared to
do anything that would really foster social change. Rather than actually working to understand
Afghan culture and society, the United States under Republican administrations installed
“plumbers” (Afghan “leaders” like Karzai and American contractors) to do the work for it , backed
up by a U.S. military presence with soldiers who never learned the language, never understood
the culture, and who were ineffective. The trillions of dollars spent in Afghanistan were siphoned
off to contractors such as Haliburton who made billions of dollars. Afghan politicians were also
corrupt and stole enormous amounts of money. In the end it was a botched effort. President Biden
was right to end it .<br><br>
Afghanistan is in effect a federation of tribal and ethnic groups. If the United States had started
with that premise, it might have been effective, but American efforts in Afghanistan were always
top-down. They never penetrated to the local level where the real power lay.<br><br>
In addition, American decision-makers are blamed for invading Afghanistan and Iraq, especially Iraq
which posed no direct threat to U.S. national interests and the war was waged based on false
claims. The invasion of Iraq was a pretext that was concocted by the neoconservatives who wanted
to completely remake the Middle East, toppling existing rulers and creating regime change where
the new rulers would be friendly toward Israel and the United States. One can recognize this as a
continuation of Cold War mentality where nations are either on the side of the U.S. and its allies
(like Israel) or against them. The 9/11 events fed into this narrative.<br><br>
The invasion of Afghanistan and the 20 year war was really a war against Islamic forces. To be sure
the Taliban and Al-Qaeda (as well as ISIS/ISIL/DAESH) are extremist Islamic groups rejected by
mainstream Islam, but in the naive American view, they are “all just Muslims.” President Biden has
courageously withdrawn the United States from this ineffective “war on Islam.” It is not clear what
will happen in the future. If another Republican becomes President and Republicans dominate in
Congress, the United States could return to this ineffective policy. The justifications they will use
are “protection of Israel,” and “nuclear weapons danger ”–the same themes they have used to
justify U.S. military action in the past 70 years.<br><br>
The Afghan army had no one to be loyal to. They certainly were not loyal to the Afghan central
government , which was massively corrupt and made no attempt to reach out to, or support anyone
on the local level. The United States was a source of huge financial resources, much of which was
stolen through corruption. When the United States withdrew the Army naturally saw that the only
effective power that was left was the Taliban, and they, quite logically, surrendered.<br><br>
President Donald J. Trump is absolutely responsible for the debacle that was the American withdrawal from
Afghanistan. He capitulated to the Taliban, made weak and vague agreements with them with no
guarantees. He bragged that no one would be able to stop the withdrawal.<br><br>
The faults of thewithdrawal are completely attributable to Trump. If he had continued as president, the same events would have occurred as took place under Biden.<br><br>
The United States is indeed an unreliable partner, and has been since World War II. Alliances with the United States never last in the face of American domestic interests, and they change with eachpresidential administration.
The nations of the world would be wise not to rely on the UnitedStates for anything. Most nations already know this, so they make no long-term plans with the United States.<br><br>
However, I believe the Taliban will fail at governing Afghanistan through some kind of central control. As I mentioned above, Afghanistan is a federation of conflicting tribal and ethnic groups. It always has been. The Taliban are Pushtun–a minority ethnic group in their own country. A minority ruling a majority is a formula for failure of any government, and Afghanistan is no exception.<br><br>
The federated governing principle of the Loya Jirga (council of regional powers) as the only effective body of national agreement shows this. The Taliban are naive and inexperienced at governing, and their extreme brand of Islam will not be an adequate basis for government. In the short term they are going to fail, and the country for a period will devolve into semi-independent regions.<br><br>
Additionally, the one thing that has emerged from the American occupation is the empowerment ofwomen. The Taliban are already having difficulty dealing with this reality, which will continue–aided by international pressure. As long as women are repressed in Afghanistan the Taliban will have extreme difficulty forming any kind of effective government.<br><br>William O. Beemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06410196700886326533noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10089650.post-351461818473858482021-01-31T11:03:00.000-08:002021-01-31T11:03:06.657-08:00Return to the JCPOA--"Iran Deal"--Iran's Conventional Arms are Completely Legal--Interview with William O. Beeman<p> </p><div class="maincontent" style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="message" style="width: 100%px;"><tbody><tr><td style="font-size: 13px;"></td><td align="right" style="font-size: 13px;"></td></tr><tr><td colspan="2" style="font-size: 13px; padding-bottom: 4px;"><b style="font-size: large;">Return to the JCPOA ("Iran Deal"_--Iran's Conventional Arms are Completely Legal--Interview with William O. Beeman </b></td></tr><tr><td colspan="2" style="font-size: 13px;"><table border="0" cellpadding="12" cellspacing="0" style="width: 100%px;"><tbody><tr><td style="font-size: 13px;"><div style="overflow: hidden;"><span><br /> <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=https://www.tehrantimes.com/news/457474/Iran-s-conventional-arms-are-completely-legal-American-scholar&source=gmail&ust=1612134338627000&usg=AFQjCNEPCeEVIkISR0QfDP3D4YVfhTxl1A" href="https://www.tehrantimes.com/news/457474/Iran-s-conventional-arms-are-completely-legal-American-scholar" style="color: #1155cc; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">https://www.tehrantimes.com/<wbr></wbr>news/457474/Iran-s-<wbr></wbr>conventional-arms-are-<wbr></wbr>completely-legal-American-<wbr></wbr>scholar</a> <br /><br /> </span><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6rqUZitzFDk/YBb-ruRPZ6I/AAAAAAAADdw/Vrxw8NP28QszOG0cf9ewmCdEgOF8h2J7wCLcBGAsYHQ/s500/Beeman--Tehran%2BTimes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="332" data-original-width="500" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6rqUZitzFDk/YBb-ruRPZ6I/AAAAAAAADdw/Vrxw8NP28QszOG0cf9ewmCdEgOF8h2J7wCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/Beeman--Tehran%2BTimes.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="overflow: hidden;"><br /><span><br /></span></div><div style="overflow: hidden;"><span style="font-size: small;">Iran's conventional arms are completely legal: American scholar</span></div><div style="overflow: hidden;"><span><br />By Mohammad Mazhari <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=https://www.tehrantimes.com/archive&source=gmail&ust=1612134338627000&usg=AFQjCNEoYI24-JhAiYfEwG3LT51SFVV-bA" href="https://www.tehrantimes.com/archive" style="color: #1155cc; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"><https://www.tehrantimes.com/<wbr></wbr>archive></a> <br />Politics <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=https://www.tehrantimes.com/service/politics&source=gmail&ust=1612134338627000&usg=AFQjCNEPjXllW6C5qmEaqPsU8tX96MuQAw" href="https://www.tehrantimes.com/service/politics" style="color: #1155cc; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"><https://www.tehrantimes.com/<wbr></wbr>service/politics></a><br />January 29, 2021 - 10:29<br /><br />TEHRAN – Describing that depriving Iran from its defensive capabilities is a “fantasy”, an American academic says “Iran's conventional weapons are completely legal.”<br /><br />“The objection to them is the fantasy that Iran could at some future date use conventional weapons to deliver a nuclear warhead to Israel,” William O. Beeman tells the Tehran Times.<br /><br />Professor emeritus of the University of Minnesota emphasizes that “Iranian leaders will never agree to limit conventional defense in order to return to the JCPOA.”<br /><br />The following is the text of the interview:<br /><br />*Q: What is the significance of the JCPOA in these circumstances while some Arab regimes and Israel argue that the region does not need revitalizing such a deal?*<br /><br />A: There is a bit of a charade going on here. What Israel objects to is not the restoration of the JCPOA. Even Israel knows that the JCPOA was never necessary since Iran was already prohibited from developing nuclear weapons through the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) dating back to 1970. It was the false claims that Iran was violating the NPT in 2003 and the sanctions imposed on Iran that created the need for the JCPOA. Iran has no nuclear weapons program and is not going to develop one as long as Iran remains a signatory to the NPT.<br /><br />No, what Israel and the Arab states are worried about is the normalization of relations between the United States and Iran. Iran is the most powerful nation in the region. As long as Iran remains estranged from the United States, and economically weakened through sanctions, these other States believe that their own power and influence is aided. They do not want any improvement in U.S.-Iranian relations, and they don't want Iran to be strengthened economically, and that is why they oppose the JCPOA.<br /><br />*Q: Some advisers close to Biden like Robert Malley believe that discussing Iran's missiles won't help reach an understanding over the nuclear dispute. Do you think the U.S. will return to JCPOA without pre-condition?*<br /><br />A: Robert Malley is a very seasoned foreign relations expert, who has had long dealings with Iran. He is Egyptian/Syrian in family origin and knows the region very well. Malley is right. Imposing pre-conditions on the United States return to the JCPOA is going to muddle, and perhaps totally frustrate the process.<br /><br />*“The objection to them is the fantasy that Iran could at some future date use conventional weapons to deliver a nuclear warhead to Israel,” Professor Beeman notes.*<br /><br />Iran's conventional weapons are completely legal. The objection to them is the fantasy that Iran could at some future date use conventional weapons to deliver a nuclear warhead to Israel. This is the most far-fetched scenario possible, but Netanyahu and Republican hawks in the United States have convinced low-information citizens of their countries that Iran is a month, two months, six months, from producing a bomb and attacking Israel. They have been saying this since 1990, so one would think that by now people would understand that this is a totally ridiculous accusation.<br /><br />So, this is going to be a non-starter in dealing with Iran. Iranian leaders will never agree to limit conventional defense in order to return to the JCPOA.<br /><br />But what Iran may be willing to do as a kind of precondition is to scale back its enrichment of uranium. Of course, I believe that Iran increased enrichment, not for any functional purpose, but rather to have precisely this bargaining chip when it came time to discuss returning to the JCPOA.<br /><br />This will be a bargaining situation, however. And this is a situation where both the United States and Iran cannot afford to lose face in these negotiations. This is not personal for Biden. If he gives up too much or gives in too easily, he will be attacked by Republicans immediately, and a good part of the American public who voted for Trump will believe these Republican attacks. Iran also has an election coming up this spring, and the success in dealing with the United States will be important in this election as well.<br /><br />*Q: What do we learn from Trump's presidency and his “maximum pressure” policy? Why did Trump fail to dictate his administration’s 12 terms on Iran?*<br /><br />A: Trump was committed to regime change in Iran, or at least to forcing Iran to come to the United States with concessions on support for external actors, reduction of its conventional weapons programs, and whatever else Trump could imagine. He wanted Iran to come begging to him, and he thought that the maximum pressure strategy would work.<br /><br />He was returning to the George W. Bush administration policies toward Iran. The Bush administration believed mistakenly that if enough economic pressure could be exerted on Iran, the Iranian people would rise up and overthrow their own government. A ridiculous idea, but it was very seriously promulgated by Bush, and also by Trump. People like John Bolton actively encouraged this.<br /><br />I should mention that royalists and other Iranians living in the United States who are opposed to the current Iranian government were actively supporting Trump in this last election because they had been told by Trump's officials that if he were re-elected he would launch a military attack on Iran and overthrow the government.<br /><br />Trump's policy was designed to be a strong departure from the Obama administration. If Obama was trying to improve relations with Iran, in the hopes of making progress in areas of mutual interest, then Trump definitely wanted to go in the opposite direction and show extreme hostility toward Iran to pressure Iran into doing what his administration wanted.<br /><br />But it didn't work. Trump knew nothing about Iran. In fact, Iran has a very robust internal economy. Iran is self-sufficient in just about everything except for specialized pharmaceuticals and specialized technical equipment. In fact, the poverty level in Iran is less than that in the United States. Iran's economy actually expanded during the two years of the Trump administration. Iran survived these Maximum Pressure sanctions. It created some very difficult economic situations for some people, but for the most part, life continued rather normally. <br /><br />*Q: Is there any obvious mechanism to return to the JCPOA? Some observers suggest "compliance-compliance". What is your comment?*<br /><br />A: No. Too much time has passed, and although President Biden is committed to returning to the JCPOA he cannot do it without negotiations. For one thing, the sanctions against Iran are so incredibly complicated, they will take a long time to be untangled. See the Wikipedia page below. You will see that there are layers and layers of sanctions that need to be dealt with.<br /><br /><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_sanctions_against_Iran%23:~:text%3DU.S.%2520economic%2520sanctions%2520are%2520administered,parts%2520to%2520Iranian%2520aviation%2520companies&source=gmail&ust=1612134338627000&usg=AFQjCNFEjovIyXT_318fOqKpnwVkAJgUCA" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_sanctions_against_Iran#:~:text=U.S.%20economic%20sanctions%20are%20administered,parts%20to%20Iranian%20aviation%20companies" style="color: #1155cc; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/<wbr></wbr>United_States_sanctions_<wbr></wbr>against_Iran#:~:text=U.S.%<wbr></wbr>20economic%20sanctions%20are%<wbr></wbr>20administered,parts%20to%<wbr></wbr>20Iranian%20aviation%<wbr></wbr>20companies</a> <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_sanctions_against_Iran%23:~:text%3DU.S.%2520economic%2520sanctions%2520are%2520administered,parts%2520to%2520Iranian%2520aviation%2520companies&source=gmail&ust=1612134338627000&usg=AFQjCNFEjovIyXT_318fOqKpnwVkAJgUCA" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_sanctions_against_Iran#:~:text=U.S.%20economic%20sanctions%20are%20administered,parts%20to%20Iranian%20aviation%20companies" style="color: #1155cc; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"><https://en.wikipedia.org/<wbr></wbr>wiki/United_States_sanctions_<wbr></wbr>against_Iran#:~:text=U.S.%<wbr></wbr>20economic%20sanctions%20are%<wbr></wbr>20administered,parts%20to%<wbr></wbr>20Iranian%20aviation%<wbr></wbr>20companies></a>.<br /><br />But more importantly, as I mentioned above, there is a political reality involved. If Biden just declared that the JCPOA sanctions were lifted without any concessions from Iran, he would be pilloried by Republicans, and the Democratic party would lose power in the next elections in 2022. So, there must be negotiations. Both sides will have to make some concessions, and the other signatories to the JCOPA must also be involved. With goodwill, this will be possible, but it will be an involved process.<br /><br />*Q: What are the main challenges of Biden in the future? Is America concerned about Trump's return?*<br /><br />A: For President Biden the massive effort in unifying the nation. The United States is very badly divided. He also has to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic which is worse in the United States than practically anywhere else. He has had a few good days thus far, and people are feeling optimistic, but it will be a difficult four years for him. And in this context, the U.S. Iranian relationship has a much lower priority than many other things. It is important, but if negotiations over the JCPOA and sanctions.are prolonged, other priorities may take precedence. <br /></span></div></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></div>William O. Beemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06410196700886326533noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10089650.post-91158021848719352392020-12-02T17:39:00.007-08:002020-12-02T17:49:43.915-08:00The Assassination of Dr. Fakrizadeh was a Mistake for Israel and the United States<p> <span face="nyt-franklin, helvetica, arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 14px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Iran 1, Netanyahu and Trump 0</span></p><span face="nyt-franklin, helvetica, arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 14px; white-space: pre-wrap;">
The Israelis and Trump have miscalculated in carrying out this murder.
The assassination of Dr. Fakhrizadeh was a really boneheaded, stupid stunt. The crime was undoubtedly conducted by Israel with the complicity of the United States.
This assassination will not slow Iran's nuclear program (which by the way, is completely legal under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty--the NPT). It was a symbolic execution pure and simple. It was also designed to make it more difficult for President-elect Biden to negotiate with Iran.
It was a failure on both counts. Whereas Dr. Fakrizadeh was historically important as a nuclear scientist, the Iranian nuclear program is by no means crippled by this. Iran has a large coterie of nuclear scientists and a robust infrastructure. Eliminating one person, no matter how "important" will not stop it.
Second, rather than retaliate with some kind of military attack, the Iranians merely pushed the hot button they know will work--increasing their absolutely legal enrichment of uranium.
Yes, the enriched uranium stockpiles exceed the limits specified in the JCPOA, an agreement (not a treaty) to assure that Iran would adhere to the NPT, which they still are doing. We should remind ourselves, that Trump withdrew from the agreement, The Europeans have also not been able to independently maintain the provisions of the agreement.
The United States has not been attacked. Biden will be able to return to the JCPOA.</span>William O. Beemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06410196700886326533noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10089650.post-21829215873468929572020-11-09T15:07:00.002-08:002020-11-09T15:07:51.261-08:00William O. Beeman--The US election has created a lot of ambiguity--Interview with Iranian Mehr News Agency<p> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: #212529; font-family: "Vazir",serif; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="https://www.mehrnews.com/news/5066542/%D8%A7%D9%86%D8%AA%D8%AE%D8%A7%D8%A8%D8%A7%D8%AA-%D8%A2%D9%85%D8%B1%DB%8C%DA%A9%D8%A7-%D8%A7%D8%A8%D9%87%D8%A7%D9%85%D8%A7%D8%AA-%D8%A8%D8%B3%DB%8C%D8%A7%D8%B1-%D8%B2%DB%8C%D8%A7%D8%AF%DB%8C-%D8%B1%D8%A7-%D8%A7%DB%8C%D8%AC%D8%A7%D8%AF-%DA%A9%D8%B1%D8%AF%D9%87-%D8%A7%D8%B3%D8%AA">https://www.mehrnews.com/news/5066542/%D8%A7%D9%86%D8%AA%D8%AE%D8%A7%D8%A8%D8%A7%D8%AA-%D8%A2%D9%85%D8%B1%DB%8C%DA%A9%D8%A7-%D8%A7%D8%A8%D9%87%D8%A7%D9%85%D8%A7%D8%AA-%D8%A8%D8%B3%DB%8C%D8%A7%D8%B1-%D8%B2%DB%8C%D8%A7%D8%AF%DB%8C-%D8%B1%D8%A7-%D8%A7%DB%8C%D8%AC%D8%A7%D8%AF-%DA%A9%D8%B1%D8%AF%D9%87-%D8%A7%D8%B3%D8%AA</a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-outline-level: 4; text-align: right;"><span style="color: #212529; font-family: "Vazir",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="https://www.mehrnews.com/news/5066542/%D8%A7%D9%86%D8%AA%D8%AE%D8%A7%D8%A8%D8%A7%D8%AA-%D8%A2%D9%85%D8%B1%DB%8C%DA%A9%D8%A7-%D8%A7%D8%A8%D9%87%D8%A7%D9%85%D8%A7%D8%AA-%D8%A8%D8%B3%DB%8C%D8%A7%D8%B1-%D8%B2%DB%8C%D8%A7%D8%AF%DB%8C-%D8%B1%D8%A7-%D8%A7%DB%8C%D8%AC%D8%A7%D8%AF-%DA%A9%D8%B1%D8%AF%D9%87-%D8%A7%D8%B3%D8%AA"><span style="color: #343a40;">The University of Minnesota professor said in an
interview with Mehr;</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 1; text-align: right;"><b><span style="color: #212529; font-family: "RTNassim",serif; font-size: 24.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;"><a href="https://www.mehrnews.com/news/5066542/%D8%A7%D9%86%D8%AA%D8%AE%D8%A7%D8%A8%D8%A7%D8%AA-%D8%A2%D9%85%D8%B1%DB%8C%DA%A9%D8%A7-%D8%A7%D8%A8%D9%87%D8%A7%D9%85%D8%A7%D8%AA-%D8%A8%D8%B3%DB%8C%D8%A7%D8%B1-%D8%B2%DB%8C%D8%A7%D8%AF%DB%8C-%D8%B1%D8%A7-%D8%A7%DB%8C%D8%AC%D8%A7%D8%AF-%DA%A9%D8%B1%D8%AF%D9%87-%D8%A7%D8%B3%D8%AA"><span style="color: #3b3b3b;">The US election has created a lot of ambiguity</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="background: #F8F9FA; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: right;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-3g3Piwn0YVE/X6nLpZp6L6I/AAAAAAAADag/QBg1Ba6jGwkHWpJl7RrC6V0klBzsgvrjQCLcBGAsYHQ/image.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="600" height="213" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-3g3Piwn0YVE/X6nLpZp6L6I/AAAAAAAADag/QBg1Ba6jGwkHWpJl7RrC6V0klBzsgvrjQCLcBGAsYHQ/w355-h213/image.png" width="355" /></a></div><br /><br /><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Vazir",serif; font-size: 9.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">A professor at the University of Minnesota believes that the 2020
US presidential election has created a lot of ambiguity in the country and
there is a possibility that post-election unrest will spread.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" dir="RTL" style="background: white; direction: rtl; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; unicode-bidi: embed;"><b><span lang="AR-SA" style="color: #212529; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 9.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Vazir; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Vazir;"><a href="https://www.mehrnews.com/"><span dir="LTR" lang="EN-US" style="color: #004adf; font-family: "Vazir",serif;">Mehr News Agency</span></a><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL"></span> , <a href="https://www.mehrnews.com/service/International"><span dir="LTR" lang="EN-US" style="color: #004adf; font-family: "Vazir",serif;">International Group</span><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL"></span><span style="color: #004adf;"><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL"></span> -</span></a> </span></b><b><span dir="LTR" style="color: #212529; font-family: "Vazir",serif; font-size: 9.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Amir Mohammad Ismaili</span></b><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL"></span><b><span lang="AR-SA" style="color: #212529; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 9.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Vazir; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Vazir;"><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL"></span>:</span></b><span lang="AR-SA" style="color: #212529; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 9.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Vazir; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Vazir;"> </span><span dir="LTR" style="color: #212529; font-family: "Vazir",serif; font-size: 9.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The
recent US election has been marked by many ups and downs, and while both
candidates consider themselves the winners of the presidency, the media is
reporting on Joe Biden's victory</span><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL"></span><span lang="AR-SA" style="color: #212529; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 9.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Vazir; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Vazir;"><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL"></span>. </span><span dir="LTR" style="color: #212529; font-family: "Vazir",serif; font-size: 9.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">This is
despite the fact that Donald Trump has repeatedly claimed election fraud and
theft of popular votes</span><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL"></span><span lang="AR-SA" style="color: #212529; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 9.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Vazir; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Vazir;"><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL"></span>.</span><span dir="LTR" style="color: #212529; font-family: "Vazir",serif; font-size: 9.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" dir="RTL" style="background: white; direction: rtl; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span dir="LTR" style="color: #212529; font-family: "Vazir",serif; font-size: 9.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">On the other hand, tensions, conflicts and unrest have occurred
in the United States following the escalation, which has further increased the
likelihood of internal riots</span><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL"></span><span lang="AR-SA" style="color: #212529; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 9.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Vazir; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Vazir;"><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL"></span>. </span><span dir="LTR" style="color: #212529; font-family: "Vazir",serif; font-size: 9.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">We
spoke with Professor William Beiman to investigate the scale and nature of the
unrest</span><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL"></span><span lang="AR-SA" style="color: #212529; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 9.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Vazir; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Vazir;"><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL"></span>.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" dir="RTL" style="background: white; direction: rtl; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span dir="LTR" style="color: #212529; font-family: "Vazir",serif; font-size: 9.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Professor William Bayman is Professor and Head of the Department
of Anthropology at the University of Minnesota, USA</span><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL"></span><span lang="AR-SA" style="color: #212529; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 9.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Vazir; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Vazir;"><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL"></span>. </span><span dir="LTR" style="color: #212529; font-family: "Vazir",serif; font-size: 9.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">He is a
well-known international researcher on the Middle East and the Islamic world,
especially Iran, the Persian Gulf region and Central Asia</span><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL"></span><span lang="AR-SA" style="color: #212529; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 9.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Vazir; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Vazir;"><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL"></span>. </span><span dir="LTR" style="color: #212529; font-family: "Vazir",serif; font-size: 9.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Bimen
also chaired the Middle East Division of the American Anthropological Society
from 2005 to 2008</span><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL"></span><span lang="AR-SA" style="color: #212529; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 9.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Vazir; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Vazir;"><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL"></span>. </span><span dir="LTR" style="color: #212529; font-family: "Vazir",serif; font-size: 9.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The
text of the conversation is as follows</span><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL"></span><span lang="AR-SA" style="color: #212529; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 9.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Vazir; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Vazir;"><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL"></span>:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" dir="RTL" style="background: white; direction: rtl; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; unicode-bidi: embed;"><b><span dir="LTR" style="color: navy; font-family: "Vazir",serif; font-size: 9.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">How do you assess the current turbulent situation
in the United States</span></b><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL"></span><b><span lang="AR-SA" style="color: navy; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 9.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Vazir; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Vazir;"><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL"></span>?</span></b><span lang="AR-SA" style="color: #212529; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 9.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Vazir; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Vazir;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" dir="RTL" style="background: white; direction: rtl; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span dir="LTR" style="color: #212529; font-family: "Vazir",serif; font-size: 9.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Joe Biden has already won enough electoral votes (in the complex
process of our election) and can be called President</span><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL"></span><span lang="AR-SA" style="color: #212529; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 9.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Vazir; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Vazir;"><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL"></span>. </span><span dir="LTR" style="color: #212529; font-family: "Vazir",serif; font-size: 9.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Trump
is trying to challenge the election in court, but it can almost be said that he
will not win</span><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL"></span><span lang="AR-SA" style="color: #212529; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 9.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Vazir; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Vazir;"><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL"></span>. </span><span dir="LTR" style="color: #212529; font-family: "Vazir",serif; font-size: 9.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">This
weekend we will see if there is a strong public reaction from Trump supporters
or not, but for now we have seen some reactions</span><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL"></span><span lang="AR-SA" style="color: #212529; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 9.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Vazir; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Vazir;"><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL"></span>.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" dir="RTL" style="background: white; direction: rtl; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span dir="LTR" style="color: #212529; font-family: "Vazir",serif; font-size: 9.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Joe Biden won the most popular votes in history and received
more than 74 million votes</span><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL"></span><span lang="AR-SA" style="color: #212529; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 9.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Vazir; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Vazir;"><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL"></span>. </span><span dir="LTR" style="color: #212529; font-family: "Vazir",serif; font-size: 9.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">This
removes many ambiguities about the future of the United States, but leaves many
ambiguities unanswered</span><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL"></span><span lang="AR-SA" style="color: #212529; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 9.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Vazir; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Vazir;"><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL"></span>.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" dir="RTL" style="background: white; direction: rtl; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; unicode-bidi: embed;"><b><span lang="AR-SA" style="color: navy; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 9.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Vazir; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Vazir;">* </span></b><b><span dir="LTR" style="color: navy; font-family: "Vazir",serif; font-size: 9.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Some
experts believe that the United States is on the verge of internal unrest and
insurgency</span></b><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL"></span><b><span lang="AR-SA" style="color: navy; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 9.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Vazir; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Vazir;"><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL"></span>. </span></b><b><span dir="LTR" style="color: navy; font-family: "Vazir",serif; font-size: 9.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">what is
your opinion</span></b><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL"></span><b><span lang="AR-SA" style="color: navy; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 9.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Vazir; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Vazir;"><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL"></span>?</span></b><span lang="AR-SA" style="color: #212529; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 9.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Vazir; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Vazir;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" dir="RTL" style="background: white; direction: rtl; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span dir="LTR" style="color: #212529; font-family: "Vazir",serif; font-size: 9.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Riots can still happen, but no real riots have taken place since
Tuesday's election</span><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL"></span><span lang="AR-SA" style="color: #212529; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 9.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Vazir; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Vazir;"><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL"></span>. </span><span dir="LTR" style="color: #212529; font-family: "Vazir",serif; font-size: 9.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Trump
supporters have tried to protest the vote count</span><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL"></span><span lang="AR-SA" style="color: #212529; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 9.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Vazir; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Vazir;"><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL"></span>. </span><span dir="LTR" style="color: #212529; font-family: "Vazir",serif; font-size: 9.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">They
are protesting against the millions of votes sent by mail instead of in person</span><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL"></span><span lang="AR-SA" style="color: #212529; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 9.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Vazir; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Vazir;"><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL"></span>.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" dir="RTL" style="background: white; direction: rtl; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; unicode-bidi: embed;"><b><span dir="LTR" style="color: navy; font-family: "Vazir",serif; font-size: 9.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">How long does it usually take for challenged
votes to be approved</span></b><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL"></span><b><span lang="AR-SA" style="color: navy; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 9.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Vazir; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Vazir;"><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL"></span>?</span></b><span lang="AR-SA" style="color: #212529; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 9.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Vazir; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Vazir;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" dir="RTL" style="background: white; direction: rtl; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span dir="LTR" style="color: #212529; font-family: "Vazir",serif; font-size: 9.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">It takes about two weeks or more to approve these votes</span><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL"></span><span lang="AR-SA" style="color: #212529; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 9.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Vazir; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Vazir;"><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL"></span>. </span><span dir="LTR" style="color: #212529; font-family: "Vazir",serif; font-size: 9.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">During this time, Trump supporters may be
trying to create unrest, so we have to wait and see how things go</span><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL"></span><span lang="AR-SA" style="color: #212529; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 9.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Vazir; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Vazir;"><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL"></span>.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" dir="RTL" style="background: white; direction: rtl; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; unicode-bidi: embed;"><b><span dir="LTR" style="color: navy; font-family: "Vazir",serif; font-size: 9.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Q: How do you think the political and security
structure of the United States will react to any possible unrest</span></b><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL"></span><b><span lang="AR-SA" style="color: navy; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 9.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Vazir; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Vazir;"><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL"></span>?</span></b><span lang="AR-SA" style="color: #212529; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 9.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Vazir; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Vazir;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" dir="RTL" style="background: white; direction: rtl; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span dir="LTR" style="color: #212529; font-family: "Vazir",serif; font-size: 9.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The United States has unusual restrictions on the use of the
military</span><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL"></span><span lang="AR-SA" style="color: #212529; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 9.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Vazir; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Vazir;"><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL"></span>. </span><span dir="LTR" style="color: #212529; font-family: "Vazir",serif; font-size: 9.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The
National Army (Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, Coast Guard) is legally barred
from interfering in internal affairs unless requested to do so by state
governments</span><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL"></span><span lang="AR-SA" style="color: #212529; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 9.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Vazir; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Vazir;"><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL"></span>. </span><span dir="LTR" style="color: #212529; font-family: "Vazir",serif; font-size: 9.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Each
state has a section of the National Guard that can be mobilized by state
governors</span><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL"></span><span lang="AR-SA" style="color: #212529; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 9.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Vazir; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Vazir;"><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL"></span>; </span><span dir="LTR" style="color: #212529; font-family: "Vazir",serif; font-size: 9.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Therefore,
any military intervention is in the hands of the state governors, not the
president</span><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL"></span><span lang="AR-SA" style="color: #212529; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 9.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Vazir; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Vazir;"><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL"></span>. </span><span dir="LTR" style="color: #212529; font-family: "Vazir",serif; font-size: 9.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">There
are also local police, police stations and the Federal Bureau of Investigation
that can only intervene in federal crimes</span><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL"></span><span lang="AR-SA" style="color: #212529; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 9.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Vazir; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Vazir;"><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL"></span>. </span><span dir="LTR" style="color: #212529; font-family: "Vazir",serif; font-size: 9.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Trump
may try to enlist in the military, but he will not succeed</span><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL"></span><span lang="AR-SA" style="color: #212529; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 9.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Vazir; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Vazir;"><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL"></span>.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="color: #6c757d; font-family: "Vazir",serif; font-size: 9.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">News ID 5066542</span><span dir="RTL" lang="AR-SA" style="color: #6c757d; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 9.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Vazir; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Vazir;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>William O. Beemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06410196700886326533noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10089650.post-59295158803597509722020-11-09T15:03:00.000-08:002020-11-09T15:03:01.309-08:00Professor William Beeman: Biden could lift Trump's sanctions on Iran immediately<p> </p><p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 1; text-align: right;"><b><span style="color: #212529; font-family: "Vazir",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;"><a href="https://www.tahlilbazaar.com/news/52777/Professor-William-Beeman-Biden-could-lift-Trump-s-sanctions" target="_blank"><span style="color: #1155cc;">https://www.tahlilbazaar.com/news/52777/Professor-William-Beeman-Biden-could-lift-Trump-s-sanctions</span></a></span></b><b><span style="color: #212529; font-family: "Vazir",serif; font-size: 24.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 1; text-align: right;"><b><span style="color: #212529; font-family: "Vazir",serif; font-size: 24.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;"><a href="https://www.tahlilbazaar.com/news/52777/Professor-William-Beeman-Biden-could-lift-Trump-s-sanctions" target="_blank"><span style="color: #3b3b3b; font-size: 16.5pt;">Professor William
Beeman: Biden could lift Trump's sanctions on Iran immediately</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="background: #F8F9FA; line-height: normal; text-align: right;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-wUCPEkScQOg/X6nKmCOxHRI/AAAAAAAADaU/sZOHMvexvn4stQmbnzFvrYjLyZzHBfz5QCLcBGAsYHQ/image.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="600" height="213" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-wUCPEkScQOg/X6nKmCOxHRI/AAAAAAAADaU/sZOHMvexvn4stQmbnzFvrYjLyZzHBfz5QCLcBGAsYHQ/image.png" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br /><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><b><span style="color: #212529; font-family: "Vazir",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">TEHRAN(Bazaar) </span></b><span style="color: #212529; font-family: "Vazir",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">– William O. Beeman,
Professor Emeritus of University of Minnesota, says If the United States
returns to the JCPOA they will have to also lift the sanctions relief specified
in the JCPOA.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="color: #212529; font-family: "Vazir",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">In an interview with the <a href="https://www.tahlilbazaar.com/" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #ff2e29;">Bazaar</span></b></a>, Beeman also says, “There must be talks about
whether the U.S. will return to the JCPOA or not in advance of this.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="color: #212529; font-family: "Vazir",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Following is the text of
the interview:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><b><span style="color: #212529; font-family: "Vazir",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Bazaar: Joe Biden, in an
article published on CNN, presented a three-stage policy against Iran.
Accordingly, he presented the three phases of nuclear talks, regional issues,
the missile issue and human rights under one package. The important issue here
is timing. That is, whether Biden considers the nuclear issue independent or
links it to missile and regional issues. If such a connection is made, the
probability of reaching an agreement with Iran is close to zero. On this basis,
it is argued that he may seek to consider each issue separately and
independently in possible negotiations with Iran. What is your assessment of
Biden's policy toward Iran?</span></b><span style="color: #212529; font-family: "Vazir",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><b><span style="color: #212529; font-family: "Vazir",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Beeman:</span></b><span style="color: #212529; font-family: "Vazir",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> We can't know
exactly what Joe Biden will do. But it will have to be a political calculation.
He can't just reverse Trump's withdrawal from the JCPOA without creating an
issue that Republicans will use against him. Therefore if he does anything with
regard to Iran, he must show that he has “improved” on the agreement. If I were
advising him, I would suggest that he condition returning to the JCPOA and
eliminating sanctions on Iran firmly agreeing to additional talks on the other
two issues. But he hasn't asked me. Nevertheless that would be, I believe, the
safest course for him politically.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><b><span style="color: #212529; font-family: "Vazir",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Bazaar: Biden has
repeatedly spoken of returning to the JCPOA during his election campaigns. But
there has been no talk of lifting sanctions on Iran. What is the reason for
this, and will it lift nuclear sanctions in return for Iran's return from
reducing its JCPOA commitments?</span></b><span style="color: #212529; font-family: "Vazir",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><b><span style="color: #212529; font-family: "Vazir",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Beeman:</span></b><span style="color: #212529; font-family: "Vazir",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> If the United
States returns to the JCPOA they will have to also lift the sanctions relief
specified in the JCPOA. So there must be talks about whether the U.S. will
return to the JCPOA or not in advance of this. There were additional sanctions
imposed by Trump after the U.S. withdrawal. Biden could lift those immediately.
If I were in his position, I would claim that the additional sanctions were not
achieving anything, and that they created a humanitarian crisis in Iran and in
the region, so lifting them would be a wise move.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><b><span style="color: #212529; font-family: "Vazir",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Bazaar: The Democratic
Party announced in a statement during the presidential election campaign that
it would no longer pursue a policy of regime change in Iran. Is this policy
still pursued when Biden came to power or was it just a propaganda issue?</span></b><span style="color: #212529; font-family: "Vazir",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><b><span style="color: #212529; font-family: "Vazir",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Beeman:</span></b><span style="color: #212529; font-family: "Vazir",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> Yes. The policy of
regime change has been a part of the Republican Party platform since George W.
Bush. I believe the Democratic Party should stick to their promise and
specifically abandon this policy. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><b><span style="color: #212529; font-family: "Vazir",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Bazaar: In general, what
changes will Biden's Middle East policy have compared to Trump?</span></b><span style="color: #212529; font-family: "Vazir",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><b><span style="color: #212529; font-family: "Vazir",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Beeman:</span></b><span style="color: #212529; font-family: "Vazir",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> There may be more
pressure on Israel to abandon the settlements. There will be a movement away
from MBS and the Saudi Arabian regime. The United States has military
facilities in Qatar and Bahrain, and there will be continued efforts to protect
them. The United States will also likely continue withdrawal from Iraq.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 3.75pt;"><span style="color: #6c757d; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 7.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">۱۹</span><span style="color: #6c757d; font-family: "Vazir",serif; font-size: 7.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span><span style="color: #6c757d; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 7.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">آبان</span><span style="color: #6c757d; font-family: "Vazir",serif; font-size: 7.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span><span style="color: #6c757d; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 7.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">۱۳۹۹</span><span style="color: #6c757d; font-family: "Vazir",serif; font-size: 7.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> - </span><span style="color: #6c757d; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 7.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">۰۹</span><span style="color: #6c757d; font-family: "Vazir",serif; font-size: 7.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">:</span><span style="color: #6c757d; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 7.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">۴۳</span><span style="color: #6c757d; font-family: "Vazir",serif; font-size: 7.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>William O. Beemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06410196700886326533noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10089650.post-17169513643647637212020-10-07T12:42:00.000-07:002020-10-07T12:42:13.540-07:00William O. Beeman: Europeans have to deal with U.S if Trump re-elected<p> </p><p><br /></p><div class="gE iv gt" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; cursor: auto; font-family: Roboto, RobotoDraft, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 0.875rem; padding: 20px 0px 0px;"><table cellpadding="0" class="cf gJ" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border-collapse: collapse; display: block; font-size: 0.875rem; letter-spacing: 0.2px; margin-top: 0px; width: auto;"><tbody style="display: block;"><tr class="acZ" style="display: flex; height: auto;"><td class="gF gK" style="display: block; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; max-height: 20px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: top; white-space: nowrap; width: 616.688px;"><table cellpadding="0" class="cf ix" style="border-collapse: collapse; table-layout: fixed; width: 616px;"><tbody><tr><td class="c2" style="display: flex; margin: 0px;"><div aria-label="This message was forwarded." class="c4 ax" role="label" style="background-image: url("https://www.gstatic.com/images/icons/material/system/1x/forward_black_20dp.png"); background-position: center center; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: 20px; height: 20px; margin-right: 8px; opacity: 0.54; width: 20px;"></div><h3 class="iw" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: auto; color: #5f6368; font-size: 0.75rem; font-weight: inherit; letter-spacing: 0.3px; line-height: 20px; margin: inherit; max-width: calc(100% - 8px); overflow: hidden; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><span class="qu" role="gridcell" tabindex="-1"><span class="gD" data-hovercard-id="wbeeman@umn.edu" email="wbeeman@umn.edu" name="William Beeman" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; color: #202124; display: inline; font-size: 0.875rem; font-weight: bold; letter-spacing: 0.2px; line-height: 20px; vertical-align: top;">William Beeman</span> <span class="go" style="color: #555555; vertical-align: top;"><span aria-hidden="true"><</span>wbeeman@umn.edu<span aria-hidden="true">></span></span></span></h3></td></tr></tbody></table></td><td class="gH bAk" style="align-items: center; color: #222222; display: block; margin: 0px; max-height: 20px; text-align: right; vertical-align: top; white-space: nowrap;"><div class="gK" style="align-items: center; display: flex; padding: 0px;"><span alt="Oct 7, 2020, 9:34 AM" class="g3" id=":3qm" role="gridcell" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: auto; color: #5f6368; display: block; font-size: 0.75rem; letter-spacing: 0.3px; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; vertical-align: top;" tabindex="-1" title="Oct 7, 2020, 9:34 AM">9:34 AM (3 hours ago)</span><div aria-checked="false" aria-label="Not starred" class="zd bi4" data-tooltip="Not starred" jslog="20511; u014N:cOuCgd,Kr2w4b;" role="checkbox" style="cursor: pointer; display: inline-block; height: 20px; margin-left: 20px; outline: 0px; user-select: none;" tabindex="0"><span class="T-KT" style="align-items: center; border: none; display: inline-flex; height: 20px; justify-content: center; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; position: relative; text-align: center; top: 0px; transition: opacity 0.15s cubic-bezier(0.4, 0, 0.2, 1) 0s; width: 20px; z-index: 0;"></span></div></div></td><td class="gH" style="align-items: center; color: #222222; display: flex; margin: 0px; text-align: right; vertical-align: top; white-space: nowrap;"></td><td class="gH acX bAm" rowspan="2" style="align-items: center; color: #222222; display: block; margin: 0px; max-height: 20px; text-align: right; vertical-align: top; white-space: nowrap;"><div aria-label="Reply" class="T-I J-J5-Ji T-I-Js-IF aaq T-I-ax7 L3" data-tooltip="Reply" role="button" style="-webkit-user-drag: none; align-items: center; background: transparent; border-radius: 2px 0px 0px 2px; border: none; box-shadow: none; color: #444444; cursor: pointer; display: inline-flex; font-size: 0.875rem; height: 20px; justify-content: center; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 0px 20px; min-width: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; position: relative; text-align: center; user-select: none; z-index: 0;" tabindex="0"><img alt="" class="hB T-I-J3 " role="button" src="https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/images/cleardot.gif" style="background: url("https://www.gstatic.com/images/icons/material/system/1x/reply_black_20dp.png") center center / 20px no-repeat; display: inline-block; height: 20px; margin: 0px; opacity: 0.54; padding: 0px; transition: opacity 0.15s cubic-bezier(0.4, 0, 0.2, 1) 0s; vertical-align: middle; width: 20px;" /></div><div aria-expanded="false" aria-haspopup="true" aria-label="More" class="T-I J-J5-Ji T-I-Js-Gs aap T-I-awG T-I-ax7 L3" data-tooltip="More" id=":171" role="button" style="-webkit-user-drag: none; align-items: center; background: transparent; border-radius: 0px 2px 2px 0px; border: none; box-shadow: none; color: #444444; cursor: pointer; display: inline-flex; font-size: 0.875rem; height: 20px; justify-content: center; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 0px 20px; min-width: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; position: relative; text-align: center; user-select: none; z-index: 0;" tabindex="0"><img alt="" class="hA T-I-J3" role="menu" src="https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/images/cleardot.gif" style="background: url("https://www.gstatic.com/images/icons/material/system/1x/more_vert_black_20dp.png") center center / 20px no-repeat; display: inline-block; height: 20px; margin: 0px; opacity: 0.54; padding: 0px; transition: opacity 0.15s cubic-bezier(0.4, 0, 0.2, 1) 0s; vertical-align: middle; width: 20px;" /></div></td></tr><tr class="acZ xD" style="display: flex; height: auto;"><td colspan="3" style="margin: 0px;"><table cellpadding="0" class="cf adz" style="border-collapse: collapse; table-layout: fixed; white-space: nowrap; width: 864px;"><tbody><tr><td class="ady" style="align-items: center; display: flex; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; text-overflow: ellipsis;"><div class="iw ajw" style="display: inline-block; max-width: 92%; overflow: hidden;"><span class="hb" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: auto; color: #5f6368; font-size: 0.75rem; letter-spacing: 0.3px; line-height: 20px; vertical-align: top;">to bcc: <span class="g2" data-hovercard-id="anthall@umn.edu" dir="ltr" email="anthall@umn.edu" name="Anthropology" style="vertical-align: top;">Anthropology</span>, bcc: <span class="g2" data-hovercard-id="eoe1@nyu.edu" dir="ltr" email="eoe1@nyu.edu" name="Erica" style="vertical-align: top;">Erica</span>, bcc: <span class="g2" data-hovercard-id="kamranaghaie@austin.utexas.edu" dir="ltr" email="kamranaghaie@austin.utexas.edu" name="Kamran" style="vertical-align: top;">Kamran</span>, bcc: <span class="g2" data-hovercard-id="ya32@nyu.edu" dir="ltr" email="ya32@nyu.edu" name="Alizadeh" style="vertical-align: top;">Alizadeh</span>, bcc: <span class="g2" data-hovercard-id="abbas.amanat@yale.edu" dir="ltr" email="abbas.amanat@yale.edu" name="Amanat" style="vertical-align: top;">Amanat</span>, bcc: <span class="g2" data-hovercard-id="babayan@umich.edu" dir="ltr" email="babayan@umich.edu" name="Babayan" style="vertical-align: top;">Babayan</span>, bcc: <span class="g2" data-hovercard-id="anneb@email.arizona.edu" dir="ltr" email="anneb@email.arizona.edu" name="Betteridge" style="vertical-align: top;">Betteridge</span>, bcc: <span class="g2" data-hovercard-id="canbyvoss@gmail.com" dir="ltr" email="canbyvoss@gmail.com" name="Canby" style="vertical-align: top;">Canby</span>, bcc: <span class="g2" data-hovercard-id="carter@humnet.ucla.edu" dir="ltr" email="carter@humnet.ucla.edu" name="Carter" style="vertical-align: top;">Carter</span>, bcc: <span class="g2" data-hovercard-id="chehabi@bu.edu" dir="ltr" email="chehabi@bu.edu" name="Chehabi" style="vertical-align: top;">Chehabi</span>, bcc: <span class="g2" data-hovercard-id="jdeeclark@gmail.com" dir="ltr" email="jdeeclark@gmail.com" name="Clark" style="vertical-align: top;">Clark</span>, bcc: <span class="g2" data-hovercard-id="tdaryaee@uci.edu" dir="ltr" email="tdaryaee@uci.edu" name="Daryaee" style="vertical-align: top;">Daryaee</span>, bcc: <span class="g2" data-hovercard-id="maryam.ekhtiar@metmuseum.org" dir="ltr" email="maryam.ekhtiar@metmuseum.org" name="Ekhtiar" style="vertical-align: top;">Ekhtiar</span>, bcc: <span class="g2" data-hovercard-id="cernst@email.unc.edu" dir="ltr" email="cernst@email.unc.edu" name="Ernst" style="vertical-align: top;">Ernst</span>, bcc: <span class="g2" data-hovercard-id="esfahani@illinois.edu" dir="ltr" email="esfahani@illinois.edu" name="Esfahani" style="vertical-align: top;">Esfahani</span>, bcc: <span class="g2" data-hovercard-id="farhama@si.edu" dir="ltr" email="farhama@si.edu" name="Farhad" style="vertical-align: top;">Farhad</span>, bcc: <span class="g2" data-hovercard-id="mgarriso@trinity.edu" dir="ltr" email="mgarriso@trinity.edu" name="Garrison" style="vertical-align: top;">Garrison</span>, bcc: <span class="g2" data-hovercard-id="ig44@cornell.edu" dir="ltr" email="ig44@cornell.edu" name="Gocheleishvili" style="vertical-align: top;">Gocheleishvili</span>, bcc: <span class="g2" data-hovercard-id="cjgruber@umich.edu" dir="ltr" email="cjgruber@umich.edu" name="Gruber" style="vertical-align: top;">Gruber</span>, bcc: <span class="g2" data-hovercard-id="prudenceharper@aol.com" dir="ltr" email="prudenceharper@aol.com" name="Harper" style="vertical-align: top;">Harper</span>, bcc: <span class="g2" data-hovercard-id="hashemi@ou.edu" dir="ltr" email="hashemi@ou.edu" name="Hashemi" style="vertical-align: top;">Hashemi</span>, bcc: <span class="g2" data-hovercard-id="hanik@usc.edu" dir="ltr" email="hanik@usc.edu" name="Khafipour" style="vertical-align: top;">Khafipour</span>, bcc: <span class="g2" data-hovercard-id="LindaK@lacma.org" dir="ltr" email="LindaK@lacma.org" name="Komaroff" style="vertical-align: top;">Komaroff</span>, bcc: <span class="g2" data-hovercard-id="kurzman@unc.edu" dir="ltr" email="kurzman@unc.edu" name="Kurzman" style="vertical-align: top;">Kurzman</span>, bcc: <span class="g2" data-hovercard-id="judith.lerner@nyu.edu" dir="ltr" email="judith.lerner@nyu.edu" name="Lerner" style="vertical-align: top;">Lerner</span>, bcc: <span class="g2" data-hovercard-id="flewis@uchicago.edu" dir="ltr" email="flewis@uchicago.edu" name="Lewis" style="vertical-align: top;">Lewis</span>, bcc: <span class="g2" data-hovercard-id="elob@fiu.edu" dir="ltr" email="elob@fiu.edu" name="Lob" style="vertical-align: top;">Lob</span>, bcc: <span class="g2" data-hovercard-id="plosensk@indiana.edu" dir="ltr" email="plosensk@indiana.edu" name="Losensky" style="vertical-align: top;">Losensky</span>, bcc: <span class="g2" data-hovercard-id="beatrice.manz@tufts.edu" dir="ltr" email="beatrice.manz@tufts.edu" name="Manz" style="vertical-align: top;">Manz</span>, bcc: <span class="g2" data-hovercard-id="amarashi@ou.edu" dir="ltr" email="amarashi@ou.edu" name="Marashi" style="vertical-align: top;">Marashi</span>, bcc: <span class="g2" data-hovercard-id="matthee@udel.edu" dir="ltr" email="matthee@udel.edu" name="Matthee" style="vertical-align: top;">Matthee</span>, bcc: <span class="g2" data-hovercard-id="repayne@uchicago.edu" dir="ltr" email="repayne@uchicago.edu" name="Payne" style="vertical-align: top;">Payne</span>, bcc: <span class="g2" data-hovercard-id="daniel.potts@nyu.edu" dir="ltr" email="daniel.potts@nyu.edu" name="Potts" style="vertical-align: top;">Potts</span>, bcc: <span class="g2" data-hovercard-id="sshakhsa@umn.edu" dir="ltr" email="sshakhsa@umn.edu" name="Shakhsari" style="vertical-align: top;">Shakhsari</span>, bcc: <span class="g2" data-hovercard-id="shayegan@humnet.ucla.edu" dir="ltr" email="shayegan@humnet.ucla.edu" name="Shayegan" style="vertical-align: top;">Shayegan</span>, bcc: <span class="g2" data-hovercard-id="djs5@princeton.edu" dir="ltr" email="djs5@princeton.edu" name="Sheffield" style="vertical-align: top;">Sheffield</span>, bcc: <span class="g2" data-hovercard-id="spooner@sas.upenn.edu" dir="ltr" email="spooner@sas.upenn.edu" name="Spooner" style="vertical-align: top;">Spooner</span>, bcc: <span class="g2" data-hovercard-id="lbs18@psu.edu" dir="ltr" email="lbs18@psu.edu" name="Sternfeld" style="vertical-align: top;">Sternfeld</span>, bcc: <span class="g2" data-hovercard-id="m-stolper@uchicago.edu" dir="ltr" email="m-stolper@uchicago.edu" name="Stolper" style="vertical-align: top;">Stolper</span>, bcc: <span class="g2" data-hovercard-id="news@justworldbooks.com" dir="ltr" email="news@justworldbooks.com" name="Just" style="vertical-align: top;">Just</span>, bcc: <span class="g2" data-hovercard-id="jlandau@fas.harvard.edu" dir="ltr" email="jlandau@fas.harvard.edu" name="Landau" style="vertical-align: top;">Landau</span>, bcc: <span class="g2" data-hovercard-id="skutay1@gmail.com" dir="ltr" email="skutay1@gmail.com" name="Steve" style="vertical-align: top;">Steve</span>, bcc: <span class="g2" data-hovercard-id="Jamal@niacaction.org" dir="ltr" email="Jamal@niacaction.org" name="Jamal" style="vertical-align: top;">Jamal</span>, bcc: <span class="g2" data-hovercard-id="jabdi@niacouncil.org" dir="ltr" email="jabdi@niacouncil.org" name="NIAC" style="vertical-align: top;">NIAC</span>, bcc: <span class="g2" data-hovercard-id="tparsi@gmail.com" dir="ltr" email="tparsi@gmail.com" name="PhD" style="vertical-align: top;">PhD</span>, bcc: <span class="g2" data-hovercard-id="mfocontact@gmail.com" dir="ltr" email="mfocontact@gmail.com" name="Mike" style="vertical-align: top;">Mike</span>, bcc: <span class="g2" data-hovercard-id="binac@morris.umn.edu" dir="ltr" email="binac@morris.umn.edu" name="Cyrus" style="vertical-align: top;">Cyrus</span>, bcc: <span class="g2" data-hovercard-id="bnk47@yahoo.com" dir="ltr" email="bnk47@yahoo.com" name="Behrad" style="vertical-align: top;">Behrad</span>, bcc: <span class="g2" data-hovercard-id="wamm@mtn.org" dir="ltr" email="wamm@mtn.org" name="Women" style="vertical-align: top;">Women</span>, bcc: <span class="g2" data-hovercard-id="goodej@gvsu.edu" dir="ltr" email="goodej@gvsu.edu" name="Jim" style="vertical-align: top;">Jim</span>, bcc: <span class="g2" data-hovercard-id="Jane.adair@csulb.edu" dir="ltr" email="Jane.adair@csulb.edu" name="to:" style="vertical-align: top;">to:</span>, bcc: <span class="g2" data-hovercard-id="skipauld@gmail.com" dir="ltr" email="skipauld@gmail.com" name="skipauld@gmail.com" style="vertical-align: top;">skipauld@gmail.com</span>, bcc: <span class="g2" data-hovercard-id="barkerpaul987@gmail.com" dir="ltr" email="barkerpaul987@gmail.com" name="barkerpaul987@gmail.com" style="vertical-align: top;">barkerpaul987@gmail.com</span>, bcc: <span class="g2" data-hovercard-id="barrotgail@gmail.com" dir="ltr" email="barrotgail@gmail.com" name="barrotgail@gmail.com" style="vertical-align: top;">barrotgail@gmail.com</span>, bcc: <span class="g2" data-hovercard-id="wbeeman@umn.edu" dir="ltr" email="wbeeman@umn.edu" name="me" style="vertical-align: top;">me</span>, bcc: <span class="g2" data-hovercard-id="Marybruceking6@gmail.com" dir="ltr" email="Marybruceking6@gmail.com" name="Marybruceking6@gmail.com" style="vertical-align: top;">Marybruceking6@gmail.com</span>, bcc: <span class="g2" data-hovercard-id="patcathcart@gmail.com" dir="ltr" email="patcathcart@gmail.com" name="patcathcart@gmail.com" style="vertical-align: top;">patcathcart@gmail.com</span>, bcc: <span class="g2" data-hovercard-id="Alisonwclement@yahoo.com" dir="ltr" email="Alisonwclement@yahoo.com" name="Alisonwclement@yahoo.com" style="vertical-align: top;">Alisonwclement@yahoo.com</span>, bcc: <span class="g2" data-hovercard-id="hooblercurtis@comcast.net" dir="ltr" email="hooblercurtis@comcast.net" name="hooblercurtis@comcast.net" style="vertical-align: top;">hooblercurtis@comcast.net</span>, bcc: <span class="g2" data-hovercard-id="kdahl@npca.org" dir="ltr" email="kdahl@npca.org" name="kdahl@npca.org" style="vertical-align: top;">kdahl@npca.org</span>, bcc: <span class="g2" data-hovercard-id="jdarznik@cca.edu" dir="ltr" email="jdarznik@cca.edu" name="jdarznik@cca.edu" style="vertical-align: top;">jdarznik@cca.edu</span>, bcc: <span class="g2" data-hovercard-id="charlieq22@yahoo.com" dir="ltr" email="charlieq22@yahoo.com" name="charlieq22@yahoo.com" style="vertical-align: top;">charlieq22@yahoo.com</span>, bcc: <span class="g2" data-hovercard-id="hekbia@indiana.edu" dir="ltr" email="hekbia@indiana.edu" name="hekbia@indiana.edu" style="vertical-align: top;">hekbia@indiana.edu</span>, bcc: <span class="g2" data-hovercard-id="oakopening@gmail.com" dir="ltr" email="oakopening@gmail.com" name="oakopening@gmail.com" style="vertical-align: top;">oakopening@gmail.com</span>, bcc: <span class="g2" data-hovercard-id="jffox77777@aol.com" dir="ltr" email="jffox77777@aol.com" name="jffox77777@aol.com" style="vertical-align: top;">jffox77777@aol.com</span>, bcc: <span class="g2" data-hovercard-id="idahowriter@aol.com" dir="ltr" email="idahowriter@aol.com" name="idahowriter@aol.com" style="vertical-align: top;">idahowriter@aol.com</span>, bcc: <span class="g2" data-hovercard-id="ray@frieden.org" dir="ltr" email="ray@frieden.org" name="ray@frieden.org" style="vertical-align: top;">ray@frieden.org</span>, bcc: <span class="g2" data-hovercard-id="allgaughan@yahoo.com" dir="ltr" email="allgaughan@yahoo.com" name="allgaughan@yahoo.com" style="vertical-align: top;">allgaughan@yahoo.com</span>, bcc: <span class="g2" data-hovercard-id="rabeahjan@gmail.com" dir="ltr" email="rabeahjan@gmail.com" name="rabeahjan@gmail.com" style="vertical-align: top;">rabeahjan@gmail.com</span>, bcc: <span class="g2" data-hovercard-id="jeanettegny@earthlink.net" dir="ltr" email="jeanettegny@earthlink.net" name="jeanettegny@earthlink.net" style="vertical-align: top;">jeanettegny@earthlink.net</span>, bcc: <span class="g2" data-hovercard-id="jygritzner@yahoo.com" dir="ltr" email="jygritzner@yahoo.com" name="jygritzner@yahoo.com" style="vertical-align: top;">jygritzner@yahoo.com</span>, bcc: <span class="g2" data-hovercard-id="hansbrad@gmail.com" dir="ltr" email="hansbrad@gmail.com" name="hansbrad@gmail.com" style="vertical-align: top;">hansbrad@gmail.com</span>, bcc: <span class="g2" data-hovercard-id="mhegland@scu.edu" dir="ltr" email="mhegland@scu.edu" name="mhegland@scu.edu" style="vertical-align: top;">mhegland@scu.edu</span>, bcc: <span class="g2" data-hovercard-id="rpcvw488@gmail.com" dir="ltr" email="rpcvw488@gmail.com" name="rpcvw488@gmail.com" style="vertical-align: top;">rpcvw488@gmail.com</span>, bcc: <span class="g2" data-hovercard-id="jmholehan@gmail.com" dir="ltr" email="jmholehan@gmail.com" name="jmholehan@gmail.com" style="vertical-align: top;">jmholehan@gmail.com</span>, bcc: <span class="g2" data-hovercard-id="thomas_huf@yahoo.com" dir="ltr" email="thomas_huf@yahoo.com" name="thomas_huf@yahoo.com" style="vertical-align: top;">thomas_huf@yahoo.com</span>, bcc: <span class="g2" data-hovercard-id="persiskarim@sfsu.edu" dir="ltr" email="persiskarim@sfsu.edu" name="persiskarim@sfsu.edu" style="vertical-align: top;">persiskarim@sfsu.edu</span>, bcc: <span class="g2" data-hovercard-id="reakeech@hotmail.com" dir="ltr" email="reakeech@hotmail.com" name="reakeech@hotmail.com" style="vertical-align: top;">reakeech@hotmail.com</span>, bcc: <span class="g2" data-hovercard-id="klobetm@hawaii.edu" dir="ltr" email="klobetm@hawaii.edu" name="klobetm@hawaii.edu" style="vertical-align: top;">klobetm@hawaii.edu</span>, bcc: <span class="g2" data-hovercard-id="jkrauskopf7@comcast.net" dir="ltr" email="jkrauskopf7@comcast.net" name="jkrauskopf7@comcast.net" style="vertical-align: top;">jkrauskopf7@comcast.net</span>, bcc: <span class="g2" data-hovercard-id="jklmk@comcast.net" dir="ltr" email="jklmk@comcast.net" name="jklmk@comcast.net" style="vertical-align: top;">jklmk@comcast.net</span>, bcc: <span class="g2" data-hovercard-id="larimerr@gmail.com" dir="ltr" email="larimerr@gmail.com" name="larimerr@gmail.com" style="vertical-align: top;">larimerr@gmail.com</span>, bcc: <span class="g2" data-hovercard-id="limbertjw@hotmail.com" dir="ltr" email="limbertjw@hotmail.com" name="limbertjw@hotmail.com" style="vertical-align: top;">limbertjw@hotmail.com</span>, bcc: <span class="g2" data-hovercard-id="jlorentz@shawnee.edu" dir="ltr" email="jlorentz@shawnee.edu" name="jlorentz@shawnee.edu" style="vertical-align: top;">jlorentz@shawnee.edu</span>, bcc: <span class="g2" data-hovercard-id="kmacleod1@cox.net" dir="ltr" email="kmacleod1@cox.net" name="kmacleod1@cox.net" style="vertical-align: top;">kmacleod1@cox.net</span>, bcc: <span class="g2" data-hovercard-id="marydmarks9c@gmail.com" dir="ltr" email="marydmarks9c@gmail.com" name="marydmarks9c@gmail.com" style="vertical-align: top;">marydmarks9c@gmail.com</span>, bcc: <span class="g2" data-hovercard-id="dan.mcconochie@gmail.com" dir="ltr" email="dan.mcconochie@gmail.com" name="dan.mcconochie@gmail.com" style="vertical-align: top;">dan.mcconochie@gmail.com</span>, bcc: <span class="g2" data-hovercard-id="femoskol@wisc.edu" dir="ltr" email="femoskol@wisc.edu" name="femoskol@wisc.edu" style="vertical-align: top;">femoskol@wisc.edu</span>, bcc: <span class="g2" data-hovercard-id="andymott@communitylearningpartnership.org" dir="ltr" email="andymott@communitylearningpartnership.org" name="andymott@communitylearningpartnership.org" style="vertical-align: top;">andymott@communitylearningpartnership.org</span>, bcc: <span class="g2" data-hovercard-id="ken.opin@gmail.com" dir="ltr" email="ken.opin@gmail.com" name="ken.opin@gmail.com" style="vertical-align: top;">ken.opin@gmail.com</span>, bcc: <span class="g2" data-hovercard-id="alexpatico@aol.com" dir="ltr" email="alexpatico@aol.com" name="alexpatico@aol.com" style="vertical-align: top;">alexpatico@aol.com</span>, bcc: <span class="g2" data-hovercard-id="orickp@gmail.com" dir="ltr" email="orickp@gmail.com" name="orickp@gmail.com" style="vertical-align: top;">orickp@gmail.com</span>, bcc: <span class="g2" data-hovercard-id="ecposey@aol.com" dir="ltr" email="ecposey@aol.com" name="ecposey@aol.com" style="vertical-align: top;">ecposey@aol.com</span>, bcc: <span class="g2" data-hovercard-id="kpransky48@comcast.net" dir="ltr" email="kpransky48@comcast.net" name="kpransky48@comcast.net" style="vertical-align: top;">kpransky48@comcast.net</span>, bcc: <span class="g2" data-hovercard-id="mrahbar@utk.edu" dir="ltr" email="mrahbar@utk.edu" name="mrahbar@utk.edu" style="vertical-align: top;">mrahbar@utk.edu</span>, bcc: <span class="g2" data-hovercard-id="tomricks28@yahoo.com" dir="ltr" email="tomricks28@yahoo.com" name="tomricks28@yahoo.com" style="vertical-align: top;">tomricks28@yahoo.com</span>, bcc: <span class="g2" data-hovercard-id="brosen1500@gmail.com" dir="ltr" email="brosen1500@gmail.com" name="brosen1500@gmail.com" style="vertical-align: top;">brosen1500@gmail.com</span>, bcc: <span class="g2" data-hovercard-id="jjsalamack@aol.com" dir="ltr" email="jjsalamack@aol.com" name="jjsalamack@aol.com" style="vertical-align: top;">jjsalamack@aol.com</span>, bcc: <span class="g2" data-hovercard-id="wsawyer@thecalebgroup.org" dir="ltr" email="wsawyer@thecalebgroup.org" name="wsawyer@thecalebgroup.org" style="vertical-align: top;">wsawyer@thecalebgroup.org</span>, bcc: <span class="g2" data-hovercard-id="dschermer@farmtel.net" dir="ltr" email="dschermer@farmtel.net" name="dschermer@farmtel.net" style="vertical-align: top;">dschermer@farmtel.net</span>, bcc: <span class="g2" data-hovercard-id="seiderse@asme.org" dir="ltr" email="seiderse@asme.org" name="seiderse@asme.org" style="vertical-align: top;">seiderse@asme.org</span>, bcc: <span class="g2" data-hovercard-id="mshannon@ehc.edu" dir="ltr" email="mshannon@ehc.edu" name="mshannon@ehc.edu" style="vertical-align: top;">mshannon@ehc.edu</span>, bcc: <span class="g2" data-hovercard-id="cspeake@mcn.org" dir="ltr" email="cspeake@mcn.org" name="cspeake@mcn.org" style="vertical-align: top;">cspeake@mcn.org</span>, bcc: <span class="g2" data-hovercard-id="wm.spielberger@sbcglobal.net" dir="ltr" email="wm.spielberger@sbcglobal.net" name="wm.spielberger@sbcglobal.net" style="vertical-align: top;">wm.spielberger@sbcglobal.net</span>, bcc: <span class="g2" data-hovercard-id="spurlock6@comcast.net" dir="ltr" email="spurlock6@comcast.net" name="spurlock6@comcast.net" style="vertical-align: top;">spurlock6@comcast.net</span>, bcc: <span class="g2" data-hovercard-id="spurlock8@gmail.com" dir="ltr" email="spurlock8@gmail.com" name="spurlock8@gmail.com" style="vertical-align: top;">spurlock8@gmail.com</span>, bcc: <span class="g2" data-hovercard-id="aht1964@yahoo.com" dir="ltr" email="aht1964@yahoo.com" name="aht1964@yahoo.com" style="vertical-align: top;">aht1964@yahoo.com</span>, bcc: <span class="g2" data-hovercard-id="gerard.torma@nordson.com" dir="ltr" email="gerard.torma@nordson.com" name="gerard.torma@nordson.com" style="vertical-align: top;">gerard.torma@nordson.com</span>, bcc: <span class="g2" data-hovercard-id="globalmaddy@gmail.com" dir="ltr" email="globalmaddy@gmail.com" name="globalmaddy@gmail.com" style="vertical-align: top;">globalmaddy@gmail.com</span>, bcc: <span class="g2" data-hovercard-id="robb.walt@outlook.com" dir="ltr" email="robb.walt@outlook.com" name="robb.walt@outlook.com" style="vertical-align: top;">robb.walt@outlook.com</span>, bcc: <span class="g2" data-hovercard-id="rwangsness@cfl.rr.com" dir="ltr" email="rwangsness@cfl.rr.com" name="rwangsness@cfl.rr.com" style="vertical-align: top;">rwangsness@cfl.rr.com</span>, bcc: <span class="g2" data-hovercard-id="wangsneg@yahoo.com" dir="ltr" email="wangsneg@yahoo.com" name="wangsneg@yahoo.com" style="vertical-align: top;">wangsneg@yahoo.com</span>, bcc: <span class="g2" data-hovercard-id="yalebush@gmail.com" dir="ltr" email="yalebush@gmail.com" name="yalebush@gmail.com" style="vertical-align: top;">yalebush@gmail.com</span>, bcc: <span class="g2" data-hovercard-id="urbana.kristin@gmail.com" dir="ltr" email="urbana.kristin@gmail.com" name="urbana.kristin@gmail.com" style="vertical-align: top;">urbana.kristin@gmail.com</span>, bcc: <span class="g2" data-hovercard-id="art@artfox.us" dir="ltr" email="art@artfox.us" name="art@artfox.us" style="vertical-align: top;">art@artfox.us</span>, bcc: <span class="g2" data-hovercard-id="Nasrin.rahimieh@uci.edu" dir="ltr" email="Nasrin.rahimieh@uci.edu" name="Nasrin.rahimieh@uci.edu" style="vertical-align: top;">Nasrin.rahimieh@uci.edu</span>, bcc: <span class="g2" data-hovercard-id="bslavin@atlanticcouncil.org" dir="ltr" email="bslavin@atlanticcouncil.org" name="Barbara" style="vertical-align: top;">Barbara</span>, bcc: <span class="g2" data-hovercard-id="bas131@aol.com" dir="ltr" email="bas131@aol.com" name="Barbara" style="vertical-align: top;">Barbara</span>, bcc: <span class="g2" data-hovercard-id="csafdari@yahoo.com" dir="ltr" email="csafdari@yahoo.com" name="Cyrus" style="vertical-align: top;">Cyrus</span>, bcc: <span class="g2" data-hovercard-id="cyrus.schayegh@graduateinstitute.ch" dir="ltr" email="cyrus.schayegh@graduateinstitute.ch" name="cyrus" style="vertical-align: top;">cyrus</span>, bcc: <span class="g2" data-hovercard-id="john.rash@startribune.com" dir="ltr" email="john.rash@startribune.com" name="John" style="vertical-align: top;">John</span>, bcc: <span class="g2" data-hovercard-id="shiva011@umn.edu" dir="ltr" email="shiva011@umn.edu" name="Amir" style="vertical-align: top;">Amir</span>, bcc: <span class="g2" data-hovercard-id="lynch355@umn.edu" dir="ltr" email="lynch355@umn.edu" name="Damon" style="vertical-align: top;">Damon</span>, bcc: <span class="g2" data-hovercard-id="ctabbott308@gmail.com" dir="ltr" email="ctabbott308@gmail.com" name="Catharine" style="vertical-align: top;">Catharine</span>, bcc: <span class="g2" data-hovercard-id="rabbas@usinternet.com" dir="ltr" email="rabbas@usinternet.com" name="Roxanne" style="vertical-align: top;">Roxanne</span>, bcc: <span class="g2" data-hovercard-id="RI-ME@yahoogroups.com" dir="ltr" email="RI-ME@yahoogroups.com" name="RI-ME" style="vertical-align: top;">RI-ME</span></span></div><div aria-haspopup="true" aria-label="Show details" class="ajy" data-tooltip="Show details" id=":170" role="button" style="align-items: center; border: none; display: inline-flex; justify-content: center; margin-left: 4px; outline: none; position: relative; vertical-align: top; z-index: 0;" tabindex="0"><img alt="" class="ajz" src="https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/images/cleardot.gif" style="background: url("https://www.gstatic.com/images/icons/material/system/1x/arrow_drop_down_black_20dp.png") center center / 20px no-repeat; border: none; cursor: pointer; display: flex; height: 20px; margin: 0px 0px 0px auto; opacity: 0.54; padding: 0px; position: relative; right: 0px; top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 20px;" /></div></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div id=":17r" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Roboto, RobotoDraft, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><div class="qQVYZb"></div><div class="utdU2e"></div><div class="btm"></div></div><div class="" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Roboto, RobotoDraft, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><div class="aHl" style="margin-left: -38px;"></div><div id=":16z" tabindex="-1"></div><div class="ii gt" id=":3pu" style="direction: ltr; font-size: 0.875rem; margin: 8px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative;"><div class="a3s aXjCH " id=":3pv" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: 1.5; overflow: hidden;"><div dir="ltr"><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family: georgia, serif;"><div style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 12px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 16px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.ilna.news/Section-politics-3&source=gmail&ust=1602176558117000&usg=AFQjCNGGiK-3M0fINYPvQjQgHdeHatMX4A" href="https://www.ilna.news/Section-politics-3" style="border: 0px; color: #003aa3; float: left; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px 4px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank"></a><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.ilna.news/Section-politics-3/976770-europeans-have-to-deal-with-if-trump-re-elected-expert&source=gmail&ust=1602176558117000&usg=AFQjCNGVQNyzy35-bpOcHVm0Bo1XWWBlQQ" href="https://www.ilna.news/Section-politics-3/976770-europeans-have-to-deal-with-if-trump-re-elected-expert" style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;" target="_blank">https://www.ilna.news/Section-<wbr></wbr>politics-3/976770-europeans-<wbr></wbr>have-to-deal-with-if-trump-re-<wbr></wbr>elected-expert</a> <br /><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.ilna.news/Section-politics-3&source=gmail&ust=1602176558117000&usg=AFQjCNGGiK-3M0fINYPvQjQgHdeHatMX4A" href="https://www.ilna.news/Section-politics-3" style="border: 0px; color: #003aa3; float: left; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px 4px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank"><br /></a></div><h1 style="border: 0px; font-family: GillSans; font-size: 23px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: normal; margin: 8px 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></h1><h1 style="border: 0px; font-family: GillSans; font-size: 23px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: normal; margin: 8px 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.ilna.news/Section-politics-3/976770-europeans-have-to-deal-with-if-trump-re-elected-expert&source=gmail&ust=1602176558117000&usg=AFQjCNGVQNyzy35-bpOcHVm0Bo1XWWBlQQ" href="https://www.ilna.news/Section-politics-3/976770-europeans-have-to-deal-with-if-trump-re-elected-expert" style="border: 0px; color: black; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank" title="Europeans have to deal with U.S if Trump re-elected; Expert">Europeans have to deal with U.S if Trump re-elected; Expert</a></h1><div style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.ilna.news/Section-politics-3/976770-europeans-have-to-deal-with-if-trump-re-elected-expert&source=gmail&ust=1602176558117000&usg=AFQjCNGVQNyzy35-bpOcHVm0Bo1XWWBlQQ" href="https://www.ilna.news/Section-politics-3/976770-europeans-have-to-deal-with-if-trump-re-elected-expert" style="border: 0px; color: #063fe1; display: block; font-family: Droid; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 8px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank" title="Europeans have to deal with U.S if Trump re-elected; Expert"><img alt="Europeans have to deal with U.S if Trump re-elected; Expert" class="CToWUd" src="https://ci4.googleusercontent.com/proxy/DZdiRvgT0LrlGy5Bl92eMcPEKi96KQ7mWhGFWOdzFt7_XhrVmn68RlBPKyS_VfEXg-J_iFMEx1LFRdjSPBK5TmcweFaiAWqMfXwX718JC7xEMvubZ_9WAk4ALb8fzKT1-KXJzULaGXl7s-33YOuwybVbWqrCjHUSrNk7T1oLt97BdrgxcA32gar4bFv0JLuSjwKE6BcbrtTSWMhhq4ZEwFIiYhJyz63GjT2irsJTSdfsglXYtwdGNik06V6zGAnxjz6oEZylIY-lP3prDBou8CxdY6g28OQGMzzj7th3nriH-67Pylqe4geG1PzHk24yKR-vz0hve_pect_H7A44whp301zZj95VhAcSPN9MrwfL4OQCVFXrovM=s0-d-e1-ft#https://static2.ilna.news/thumbnail/XvCSQwiryGe7/zD2ly951Lbe1X4vBXmeYxnwvBKd2o-upCBoRpuXWWQ3xVYIwBtE8SJc5CgG8w1SR1HhaeHPcWe7Z4QQxwQ5aCQuC6bW65Yo2vzNA1A_oYcME-xuDHnCGIL88GkvFaMums2lp5Xzk-eErjUYezqJx1w96qHB4I0VpXuOejRjZDSys4NdjIqNZJEQ6csj1vAj0tmHgQkNOf8E,/333.jpg" style="border: none; display: block; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; height: auto; margin: 8px 0px; max-width: 100%; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" /></a></div><p style="background-color: #f6f6f6; border: 1px solid rgb(230, 228, 228); color: #065579; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 16px; padding: 8px; vertical-align: baseline;">The United States has threatened to punish any nation that uses dollars or dollar transfers to aid Iran," an American scholar whose specialty is the Middle East told ILNA.</p><p style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 16px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">William Beeman who is professor of anthropology at the University of Minnesota talked about the U.S Presidential election and the results of that election to the international community. He says “Everyone is waiting for the U.S. presidential elections before taking definitive action.” Adding that if Trump wins, European has to find some way to deal with him. Right now the JCPOA is in stasis, and it could stay that way, but it would be rendered useless.</p><p style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 16px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </p><p style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 16px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong style="font-family: DroidBold;">Below is Beeman's interview with ILNA news agency:</strong></em></p><p style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 16px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong style="font-family: DroidBold;"><span style="border: 0px; color: navy; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Q: Can US diplomacy head off conflict between the US and Iran?</span></strong></p><p style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 16px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong style="font-family: DroidBold;">A:</strong> There are many things that can lead to war, but not these futile "Snapback actions" on the part of the United States. These have been completely rejected by every other nation, and the UN has ruled that the United States cannot make them incumbent on other nations, because Trump withdrew the United States from the JCPOA. So the United State has failed in trying to enact these actions. Additionally, the United States had already sanctioned everything possible in Iran, so there was no room for Trump to do more.</p><p style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 16px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </p><p style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 16px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong style="font-family: DroidBold;"><span style="border: 0px; color: navy; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Q: Europe has not fulfilled its obligations of JCPOA. Why did this happen?</span></strong></p><p style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 16px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong style="font-family: DroidBold;">A:</strong> The Europeans would like to fulfill their obligations, but they are hamstrung by the United States because of the dominance of the U.S. Dollar in international trade. The United States has threatened to punish any nation that uses dollars or dollar transfers to aid Iran. The Europeans tried to create another financial transfer system to bypass the U.S. restrictions, and it was implemented, but it was so minuscule that it had no effect. Russia and China are also trying to develop alternative transfer systems that would bypass the dollar.</p><p style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 16px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </p><p style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 16px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong style="font-family: DroidBold;"><span style="border: 0px; color: navy; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Q: EU Chief reaffirms commitment to keep JCPOA alive. Will the EU Keep the JCPOA Alive?</span></strong></p><p style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 16px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong style="font-family: DroidBold;">A:</strong> It is still alive, and if Biden is elected, it will be available to be renewed. Everyone is waiting for the U.S. presidential elections before taking definitive action. The United States has done all it can, and has been rebuffed by the International Community. </p><p style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 16px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </p><p style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 16px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong style="font-family: DroidBold;"><span style="border: 0px; color: navy; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Q: Some believe that with Trump's victory, we will see Europe turn to the United States and destroy JCPOA. What is your opinion?</span></strong></p><p style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 16px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong style="font-family: DroidBold;">A:</strong> If Trump wins, this might happen, but only because four more years of intransigence on the JCPOA will render it effectively ineffective. If Trump wins, Europeans will have to find some way to deal with him. Right now the JCPOA is in stasis, and it could stay that way, but it would be rendered useless.</p><p style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 16px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">What people continually forget is that Iran and all other nations (except Israel, Pakistan, India, North Korea and South Sudan) are bound by the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) which is a real treaty, not just an "agreement" like the JCPOA. Iran is in full compliance with the NPT, and so Iran cannot proceed to any kind of nuclear weapons development without withdrawing from the NPT. This has been talked about in Iran, but I don't see it happening.</p><p style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 16px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Foreign Minister Zarif has just laid out a set of conditions for Iran to return to discussions with the U.S. over the JCPOA. If Biden wins he will have a similar set, and discussions could begin again. If Trump wins, nothing will happen. </p><p style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 16px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </p><p style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 16px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong style="font-family: DroidBold;"><span style="border: 0px; color: navy; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Q: Is Donald Trump going to win the US election?</span></strong></p><p style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 16px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong style="font-family: DroidBold;">A:</strong> At present he is losing. The question remains whether he would leave office if he lost, or would try to retain power through some kind of coup. We are worried about this in the United States. Our strange election system makes it possible for Trump to win the election even if he loses the popular vote. So the calculus of voting is very complex, usually coming down to the vote in a very few selected states where the vote will be close. Those are the states to watch.</p></div></div></div></div></div>William O. Beemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06410196700886326533noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10089650.post-65875139550884625792020-04-21T10:04:00.001-07:002020-04-21T10:09:08.125-07:00Trump's utter and complete incompetence<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Trump is incompetent. Period.
We elect presidents to lead our nation, to protect us, and to solve national dilemmas. It is perhaps bad luck that presidents encounter disasters, wars, economic collapse, disease and other dangers to the nation. But presidents are supposed to have the skill and experience to extricate the nation from these terrible events.
Trump is simply incapable of managing this task. The nation chose badly. We chose someone who was a bomb-thrower, a huckster, and first and foremost, someone who put his own personal interests above the needs and concerns of the nation.
What is worse, Trump dithers and shuck-and-jives his way through this terrible mess by claiming that no one could do better, asserting loudly that he is superior to any alternative, present or past, as if these empty proclamations actually solve our national dilemma. It is such a juvenile strategy, it defies imagination, and drives me and others to weep in rage that such a ridiculous person holds our fate in his hands.
I'm certain that anyone else could have done a better job in the current crisis. I am certain that Hillary Clinton would have put all chicanery and personal interests aside to do what was effective. I even believe that Jeb Bush, Mitt Romney, or John Kaisich to name a few competent Republicans would have had better control.
We will be generations trying to clean up Trump's complete mess. He has blown his presidency, and God help us if he is given four more years of chaos</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 14px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="https://nyti.ms/2VL0nS1#permid=106612171">https://nyti.ms/2VL0nS1#permid=106612171</a></span></div>
William O. Beemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06410196700886326533noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10089650.post-19333029150524825092019-08-03T11:16:00.001-07:002019-08-03T11:16:24.158-07:00William O. Beeman response to Iranian Journalist on Persian Gulf Military Operations<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div class="vY nq" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: #202124; font-family: Roboto, RobotoDraft, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; height: 882px; left: 0px; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; position: absolute; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; top: 0px; visibility: hidden; white-space: normal; widows: 2; width: 1240px; word-spacing: 0px; z-index: -2;">
</div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: #202124; font-family: Roboto, RobotoDraft, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<div>
</div>
</div>
<br />
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: #202124; font-family: Roboto, RobotoDraft, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<div class="nH" style="width: 1240px;">
<div class="nH">
<div class="nH bkL">
<div class="no" style="display: flex; float: left; width: 1240px;">
<div class="nH bkK nn" style="float: left; min-height: 1px; overflow: hidden; width: 997px;">
<div class="nH">
<div class="nH">
<div class="nH ar4 z">
<div class="">
<div class="AO" style="position: relative;">
<div class="Tm aeJ" id=":3" style="background: white; height: 738px; overflow-y: scroll; padding-right: 0px;">
<div class="aeF" id=":1" style="min-height: 548px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: bottom;">
<div class="nH">
<div class="nH" role="main">
<div class="nH g">
<table cellpadding="0" class="Bs nH iY bAt" role="presentation" style="border-collapse: collapse; border-spacing: 0px; display: block; padding: 0px; position: static !important; width: 912px;"><tbody>
<tr><td class="Bu bAn" style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); display: block; font-family: Roboto, RobotoDraft, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: top;"><div class="nH if" style="margin: 0px 16px 0px 0px; padding: 0px;">
<div class="nH aHU" style="position: relative;">
<div class="nH hx" style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; min-width: 502px; padding: 0px;">
<div class="nH" jslog="20686; u014N:xr6bB" role="list">
<div class="h7 ie nH oy8Mbf" role="listitem" style="clear: both; max-width: 100000px; outline: none; padding-bottom: 0px;" tabindex="-1">
<div class="Bk" style="border-bottom-color: initial; border-bottom-style: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-color: initial; border-left-style: initial; border-radius: 0px; border-right-color: initial; border-right-style: initial; border-top-color: rgb(239, 239, 239); border-top-style: solid; border-width: 0px; float: none !important; margin-bottom: 0px; position: relative; width: 896px;">
<div class="G3 G2" style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom: 0px rgba(100, 121, 143, 0.12); border-image: initial; border-left: 0px; border-radius: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: none; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
<div>
<div id=":2jv">
<div class="adn ads" data-legacy-message-id="16c58abe3b8d34e1" data-message-id="#msg-a:r7723190117870718669" style="border-left: none; display: flex; padding: 0px;">
<div class="gs" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 20px; width: 824px;">
<div class="">
<div class="ii gt" id=":2jy" style="direction: ltr; font-size: 0.875rem; margin: 8px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative;">
<div class="a3s aXjCH " id=":2jx" style="font: small/1.5 Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; overflow: hidden;">
<div dir="ltr">
<div class="gmail_quote">
<div dir="ltr">
<div class="gmail_quote">
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0px 0px 0px 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;">
<div dir="ltr">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 16.8667px; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.5333px;">1. The United States has spoken about new military coalition in the Persian Gulf. What is the purpose of this coalition?</span></div>
</div>
</blockquote>
<div>
<span class="gmail_default" style="font-size: x-small;">The United States has no plausible reason for engaging with Iran. The only piece of American military equipment that was damaged by Iran was the drone shot down in the Persian Gulf. The U.S. claimed that it was in international waters, Iran claimed that it was in Iranian territory. The Russians eventually confirmed the Iranian claim, and the United States went quiet. </span></div>
<div>
<span class="gmail_default" style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span class="gmail_default" style="font-size: x-small;">I mention this, because people like John Bolton and Mike Pompeo desperately want some pretext for attacking Iran. So they form this "coalition" in order to find some way to defend "American interests" even if the ships or other equipment that might be involved with the Iranian navy or other military are NOT American, the United States can claim that "the United States is being attacked." It is a phony pretext, but this is one more way for war-mongering politicians to create a pretext for military action against Iran.<span> </span></span> </div>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0px 0px 0px 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;">
<div dir="ltr">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 16.8667px; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.5333px;"><span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 16.8667px; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.5333px;">2. Another plan for Persian Gulf security order in recent days suggested by England. France announced that will join to this coalition and Germany is not clear until now. Why England suggest this plan without participation of U.S.?</span></div>
</div>
</blockquote>
<div>
<span class="gmail_default" style="font-size: x-small;">Because the United Kingdom is not interested in war with Iran, and they know that the United States is itching to attack Iran. They don't want UK ships or other military equipment to be used as a pretext for American war-mongering.<span> </span></span> </div>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0px 0px 0px 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;">
<div dir="ltr">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 16.8667px; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.5333px;"><span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 16.8667px; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.5333px;">3-Another Plan for Persian Gulf security order is Russian plan that is close to Iranian plan for Persian Gulf. In Russian plan the trans- regional powers just have the supervisory role in the security of the Persian Gulf instead of interferer role. How much this plan is practical at this time?</span></div>
</div>
</blockquote>
<div>
<span class="gmail_default" style="font-size: x-small;">Of course the Russians would like this. FINALLY they would get access to the Persian Gulf (something they have been trying to do since the time of Peter the Great).. Iran may agree to this, but my personal opinion is that they should not. This would be a sacrifice of Iranian sovereignty to Russia, and it is a sneaky back-door ploy to increase Russian influence in the region. Don't let the Russians establish military outposts in the Gulf. It would be a big mistake.<span> </span></span> </div>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0px 0px 0px 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;">
<div dir="ltr">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 16.8667px; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.5333px;"><span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 16.8667px; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.5333px;">4-The Iranian plan for the Persian Gulf is based on making security by intra states. How much this plan is feasible now?</span></div>
</div>
</blockquote>
<div>
<span class="gmail_default" style="font-size: x-small;">It doesn;t look very possible right now, but my feeling is that the states of the Persian Gulf should form a defense organization to police and protect the Gulf. I am in favor of local control, and absolutely against allowing the big international powers control over the Gulf. This would be a big mistake. Clearly they all want to do this.<span> </span></span> </div>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0px 0px 0px 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;">
<div dir="ltr">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 16.8667px; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.5333px;"><span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 16.8667px; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL" lang="AR-SA" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.5333px;"><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL"></span>5</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.5333px;"><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span>. After 16 years, American troops returned to Saudi Arabia.<span> <span> </span></span>What does this issue effect on the security situation in the region?</span></div>
</div>
</blockquote>
<div>
<span class="gmail_default" style="font-size: x-small;">You may be too young to remember, but Saudi Arabia refused to have American troops on its soil for religious reasons since the founding of the Kingdom in the 1930s. The idea that "infidel troops" would be on the sacred soil of the nation that protected Mecca and Medina was unacceptable to the Wahhabis and Salafis. However, the United States desperately wanted to have U.S. troops based in Saudi Arabia. For a long time they did this by claiming to be "advisers" and not active troops. This occurred during the first Gulf War when Iraq tried to invade Kuwait. George H.W. Bush told the Saudis that Saddam Hussein would attack Saudi Arabia after he conquered Kuwait, and the United States needed to be in Saudi Arabia to "protect them."<span> </span></span> </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<div style="font-size: small;">
Now the United States wants to attack Iran. Saudi Arabia has enormous stockpiles of equipment, but virtually no fighting troops. So if there is to be a military action in the Gulf, the United States wants to direct it and take the main initiative under the cover of "aiding" Saudi Arabia. This is, of course, enormously hypocritical. The United States criticizes Iran for its activity in Syria, and here is the United States gearing up for a phantom conflict with Iran hiding behind the Saudis. </div>
<div style="font-size: small;">
______________</div>
<div style="font-size: small;">
In all of this activity, what your readers need to know is that many in the United States criticize Trump, Bolton, and Pompeo for advocating for U.S. activity in the Persian Gulf because they don't see that there are really any American interests to be defended, so the Trump administration is trying to create a set of artificial American interests through these phony alliances.</div>
</div>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0px 0px 0px 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;">
<div dir="ltr">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 16.8667px; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 24.5333px;"><span></span></span></div>
<div class="yj6qo">
</div>
<div class="adL">
</div>
</div>
<div class="gmail_quote adL">
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0px 0px 0px 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;">
<div dir="ltr">
<div class="gmail_quote">
<div dir="ltr">
<div dir="ltr">
<div>
<div class="m_5053075466395004505m_5853315452814186970gmail-m_-8765980439901169133gmail-m_4463693970381826696m_6009086547924439746gmail_signature" dir="ltr">
<div dir="ltr">
<div>
<div dir="ltr">
<div>
<div dir="ltr">
<div>
<div dir="ltr">
<div>
<br /></div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</blockquote>
</div>
<div class="adL">
</div>
</blockquote>
</div>
</div>
<div class="adL">
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="adL">
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="hi" style="background: rgb(242, 242, 242); border-bottom-left-radius: 1px; border-bottom-right-radius: 1px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; width: auto;">
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="ajx" style="clear: both;">
</div>
</div>
<div class="gA gt acV" style="background: transparent; border-bottom-left-radius: 0px; border-bottom-right-radius: 0px; border-top: none; font-size: 0.875rem; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; width: auto;">
<div class="gB xu" style="border-top: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<div class="ip iq" style="border-top: none; clear: both; margin: 0px; padding: 16px 0px;">
<div id=":2jz">
<table class="cf wS" role="presentation" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><tbody>
<tr><td class="amq" style="font-family: Roboto, RobotoDraft, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 16px; vertical-align: top; visibility: hidden; width: 44px;"><img class="ajn bofPge" data-hovercard-id="wbeeman@umn.edu" id=":10d_39" jid="wbeeman@umn.edu" name=":10d" src="https://www.google.com/s2/u/0/photos/public/AIbEiAIAAABECMOu-LfRw5OR5AEiC3ZjYXJkX3Bob3RvKihhNGFiNmUwOGM0ZGVmZTc3NzIxMjdlNTFkNmIxYTEwNjQ1NTAzMjhmMAFgVOnYV0XjrQjv5a8E10-WN025FA?sz=40" style="border-radius: 50%; display: block; height: 40px; width: 40px;" /></td><td class="amr" style="font-family: Roboto, RobotoDraft, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; width: 824px;"><div class="nr wR" style="background-color: white; border-radius: 1px; border: none !important; box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px; transition: none 0s ease 0s;">
<div class="amn" style="align-items: center; color: inherit; display: flex; height: auto; line-height: 20px; padding: 0px;">
<span class="ams bkH" id=":2ji" jslog="21576; u014N:cOuCgd,Kr2w4b;" role="link" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; -webkit-user-drag: none; align-items: center; background: none; border-radius: 4px; border: none; box-shadow: rgb(218, 220, 224) 0px 0px 0px 1px inset; box-sizing: border-box; color: #5f6368; cursor: pointer; display: inline-flex; font-family: "Google Sans", Roboto, RobotoDraft, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 0.875rem; font-weight: 500; height: 36px; justify-content: center; letter-spacing: 0.25px; margin-right: 12px; min-width: 104px; outline: none; padding: 0px 16px 0px 12px; position: relative; text-decoration: none; user-select: none; z-index: 0;" tabindex="0">Reply</span><span class="ams bkG" id=":2ju" jslog="21578; u014N:cOuCgd,Kr2w4b;" role="link" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; -webkit-user-drag: none; align-items: center; background: none; border-radius: 4px; border: none; box-shadow: rgb(218, 220, 224) 0px 0px 0px 1px inset; box-sizing: border-box; color: #5f6368; cursor: pointer; display: inline-flex; font-family: "Google Sans", Roboto, RobotoDraft, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 0.875rem; font-weight: 500; height: 36px; justify-content: center; letter-spacing: 0.25px; margin-right: 12px; min-width: 104px; outline: none; padding: 0px 16px 0px 12px; position: relative; text-decoration: none; user-select: none; z-index: 0;" tabindex="0">Forward</span></div>
</div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="nH">
</div>
<div class="nH">
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="nH">
<div class="l2 pfiaof" role="contentinfo" style="margin: 0px 0px 16px; padding: 0px 16px 0px 72px; text-align: center; text-shadow: none; visibility: hidden;">
<div id=":3ep">
</div>
<div class="aeV" id=":3el" style="float: left; text-align: left; width: 269.063px;">
<div>
<div class="md mj" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: auto; color: #5f6368; font-family: Roboto, RobotoDraft, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 0.75rem; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: 0.3px; line-height: 20px; padding-top: 0px; text-shadow: none;">
<div>
<span dir="ltr"></span></div>
<div class="aeW" style="font-weight: normal;">
<a aria-label="Manage Storage" class="l8" href="https://drive.google.com/u/0/settings/storage?hl=en&utm_medium=web&utm_source=gmail" style="color: #222222; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none;" target="_blank"></a></div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="aeU" style="float: left; width: 269.063px;">
<div id=":3em">
<div>
<div class="ma" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: auto; color: #5f6368; font-family: Roboto, RobotoDraft, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 0.75rem; letter-spacing: 0.3px; line-height: 20px; padding-top: 0px; text-shadow: none;">
<a class="l9" href="https://www.google.com/gmail/about/policy/" style="color: #222222; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none;" target="_blank"></a><div class="mb" style="color: #5f6368; padding: 0px; text-shadow: none;">
<a class="l9" href="https://www.google.com/" style="color: #222222; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none;" target="_blank"><div class="a2Z" style="background: url("//ssl.gstatic.com/mail/images/googlelogo_tm_color_68x24dp_1x.png") transparent; display: inline-block; height: auto; text-decoration: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; width: auto;">
<div class="a3I" style="display: inline; height: auto; left: -10000px; overflow: hidden; position: static; top: -10000px; width: auto;">
</div>
</div>
</a></div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="ae3" id=":3eo" style="float: left; text-align: right; width: 269.063px;">
<div>
<div class="l6" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: auto; color: #5f6368; font-family: Roboto, RobotoDraft, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 0.75rem; letter-spacing: 0.3px; line-height: 20px; padding-top: 0px; text-shadow: none;">
<div>
</div>
<span class="l8 LJOhwe" id=":3eh" role="link" style="color: #222222; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none;" tabindex="0"></span></div>
</div>
</div>
<div style="clear: both;">
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</td><td class="Bu yM" style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: Roboto, RobotoDraft, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: top; width: 0px;"><div class="Bt" style="height: 0px; overflow: hidden; width: 0px;">
</div>
<div class="nH" style="width: 0px;">
<div class="no" style="float: left;">
<div class="nH nn" style="float: left; min-height: 1px; width: 0px;">
<div style="height: 64ex;">
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="dJ" style="clear: both; height: 0px; overflow: hidden;">
</div>
</div>
</td><td class="Bu y3" style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: Roboto, RobotoDraft, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; height: 100px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: top; width: 0px;"><div class="Bt" style="height: 0px; overflow: hidden; width: 499px;">
</div>
<div class="nH bno adC" role="complementary" style="margin: 0px; position: absolute; right: 32px; top: 0px; width: 0px;">
<div class="nH">
</div>
</div>
<div class="y4" style="bottom: 0px; height: 1466px; left: 0px; opacity: 0; position: relative; top: 0px; visibility: hidden; width: 0px; z-index: 2;">
</div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="nH bAw nn" style="float: left; height: 786px; min-height: 1px; min-width: 56px; transition-duration: 0.15s; transition-property: min-width, width; transition-timing-function: cubic-bezier(0.4, 0, 0.2, 1); width: 56px; z-index: 2;">
<div aria-label="Side panel" class="brC-aT5-aOt-Jw" role="complementary" style="background-color: white; border-left: 1px solid rgb(241, 243, 244); box-sizing: border-box; display: flex; flex-direction: column; height: 786px; position: relative; width: 56px;">
<div class="brC-aT5-aOt-bsf-Jw" style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex: 1 0 auto; margin-bottom: 56px;">
<div class="brC-bsf-aT5-aOt" role="tablist" style="-webkit-box-flex: 1; flex-grow: 1; height: 100px; outline: none; user-select: none;" tabindex="0">
<div aria-disabled="false" aria-label="Calendar" aria-selected="false" class="bse-bvF-I aT5-aOt-I bse-bvF-aLp" data-guest-app-id="6" id="gsc-gab-6" role="tab" style="cursor: pointer; height: 56px; outline: none; pointer-events: none; position: relative; transition: all 0.3s cubic-bezier(0.4, 0, 0.2, 1) 0s; user-select: none; width: 56px;">
<div class="aT5-aOt-I-JX-atM aT5-aOt-I-JX-atM-Kv" style="border-color: rgb(232, 240, 254); border-radius: 50%; display: flex; height: 40px; left: 8px; position: absolute; top: 8px; transition: all 0.3s cubic-bezier(0.4, 0, 0.2, 1) 0s; user-select: none; width: 40px;">
</div>
<div class="aT5-aOt-I-JX-atM aT5-aOt-I-JX-atM-J6" style="border-radius: 50%; display: flex; height: 40px; left: 8px; position: absolute; top: 8px; transition: all 0.3s cubic-bezier(0.4, 0, 0.2, 1) 0s; user-select: none; width: 40px;">
</div>
<div class="aT5-aOt-I-JX-Jw" style="align-items: center; background-color: transparent; background-image: url("https://www.gstatic.com/companion/icon_assets/calendar_2x.png"); background-position: center center; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: 20px 20px; border-radius: 50%; display: flex; height: 40px; left: 8px; pointer-events: auto; position: absolute; top: 8px; transition: all 0.3s cubic-bezier(0.4, 0, 0.2, 1) 0s; user-select: none; width: 40px;">
</div>
</div>
<div aria-disabled="false" aria-label="Keep" aria-selected="false" class="bse-bvF-I aT5-aOt-I bse-bvF-a9p" data-guest-app-id="2" id="gsc-gab-2" role="tab" style="cursor: pointer; height: 56px; outline: none; pointer-events: none; position: relative; transition: all 0.3s cubic-bezier(0.4, 0, 0.2, 1) 0s; user-select: none; width: 56px;">
<div class="aT5-aOt-I-JX-atM aT5-aOt-I-JX-atM-Kv" style="border-color: rgb(254, 247, 224); border-radius: 50%; display: flex; height: 40px; left: 8px; position: absolute; top: 8px; transition: all 0.3s cubic-bezier(0.4, 0, 0.2, 1) 0s; user-select: none; width: 40px;">
</div>
<div class="aT5-aOt-I-JX-atM aT5-aOt-I-JX-atM-J6" style="border-radius: 50%; display: flex; height: 40px; left: 8px; position: absolute; top: 8px; transition: all 0.3s cubic-bezier(0.4, 0, 0.2, 1) 0s; user-select: none; width: 40px;">
</div>
<div class="aT5-aOt-I-JX-Jw" style="align-items: center; background-color: transparent; background-image: url("https://www.gstatic.com/companion/icon_assets/keep_2x.png"); background-position: center center; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: 20px 20px; border-radius: 50%; display: flex; height: 40px; left: 8px; pointer-events: auto; position: absolute; top: 8px; transition: all 0.3s cubic-bezier(0.4, 0, 0.2, 1) 0s; user-select: none; width: 40px;">
</div>
</div>
<div aria-disabled="false" aria-label="Tasks" aria-selected="false" class="bse-bvF-I aT5-aOt-I bse-bvF-aLp" data-guest-app-id="4" id="gsc-gab-4" role="tab" style="cursor: pointer; height: 56px; outline: none; pointer-events: none; position: relative; transition: all 0.3s cubic-bezier(0.4, 0, 0.2, 1) 0s; user-select: none; width: 56px;">
<div class="aT5-aOt-I-JX-atM aT5-aOt-I-JX-atM-Kv" style="border-color: rgb(232, 240, 254); border-radius: 50%; display: flex; height: 40px; left: 8px; position: absolute; top: 8px; transition: all 0.3s cubic-bezier(0.4, 0, 0.2, 1) 0s; user-select: none; width: 40px;">
</div>
<div class="aT5-aOt-I-JX-atM aT5-aOt-I-JX-atM-J6" style="border-radius: 50%; display: flex; height: 40px; left: 8px; position: absolute; top: 8px; transition: all 0.3s cubic-bezier(0.4, 0, 0.2, 1) 0s; user-select: none; width: 40px;">
</div>
<div class="aT5-aOt-I-JX-Jw" style="align-items: center; background-color: transparent; background-image: url("https://www.gstatic.com/companion/icon_assets/tasks2_2x.png"); background-position: center center; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: 20px 20px; border-radius: 50%; display: flex; height: 40px; left: 8px; pointer-events: auto; position: absolute; top: 8px; transition: all 0.3s cubic-bezier(0.4, 0, 0.2, 1) 0s; user-select: none; width: 40px;">
</div>
</div>
<div aria-disabled="true" aria-hidden="false" class="brC-aT5-aOt-axR" id=":10f" role="separator" style="border-top: 1px solid rgb(218, 220, 224); content: ""; display: block; flex: 1 0 auto; margin: 16px auto 0px; padding-bottom: 16px; user-select: none; width: 20px;">
</div>
<div aria-label="Get Add-ons" aria-selected="false" class="bse-bvF-I aT5-aOt-I" id="p2DdMb" role="tab" style="cursor: pointer; height: 56px; outline: none; pointer-events: none; position: relative; transition: all 0.3s cubic-bezier(0.4, 0, 0.2, 1) 0s; user-select: none; width: 56px;">
<div class="aT5-aOt-I-JX-atM aT5-aOt-I-JX-atM-Kv" style="border-color: rgb(232, 240, 254); border-radius: 50%; display: flex; height: 40px; left: 8px; position: absolute; top: 8px; transition: all 0.3s cubic-bezier(0.4, 0, 0.2, 1) 0s; width: 40px;">
</div>
<div class="aT5-aOt-I-JX-atM aT5-aOt-I-JX-atM-J6" style="border-radius: 50%; display: flex; height: 40px; left: 8px; position: absolute; top: 8px; transition: all 0.3s cubic-bezier(0.4, 0, 0.2, 1) 0s; width: 40px;">
</div>
<div class="aT5-aOt-I-JX-Jw" style="align-items: center; background-color: transparent; background-image: url("https://www.gstatic.com/images/icons/material/system/1x/add_grey600_24dp.png"); background-position: center center; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: 20px 20px; border-radius: 50%; display: flex; height: 40px; left: 8px; pointer-events: auto; position: absolute; top: 8px; transition: all 0.3s cubic-bezier(0.4, 0, 0.2, 1) 0s; width: 40px;">
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div aria-label="Toggle side panel" class="brC-dA-I-Jw" role="navigation" style="bottom: 0px; display: flex; height: 56px; overflow: hidden; position: absolute; right: 0px; width: 56px; z-index: 2;">
<div aria-label="Hide side panel" aria-pressed="false" class="aT5-aOt-I brC-dA-I" role="button" style="bottom: 0px; cursor: pointer; height: 56px; outline: none; pointer-events: none; position: relative; transition: all 0.3s cubic-bezier(0.4, 0, 0.2, 1) 0s; user-select: none; width: 56px;" tabindex="0">
<div class="aT5-aOt-I-JX-atM" style="border-radius: calc(38px); display: flex; height: 40px; left: 8px; position: absolute; top: 8px; transition: all 0.3s cubic-bezier(0.4, 0, 0.2, 1) 0s; width: 40px;">
</div>
<div class="aT5-aOt-I-JX-Jw" style="align-items: center; background-color: transparent; background-position: center center; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: 20px 20px; border-radius: calc(38px); display: flex; height: 40px; left: 8px; pointer-events: auto; position: absolute; top: 8px; transition: all 0.3s cubic-bezier(0.4, 0, 0.2, 1) 0s; width: 40px;">
<svg class="aT5-aOt-I-JX" enable-background="new 0 0 24 24" fill="#5F6368" height="20px" id="Layer_1" version="1.1" viewbox="0 0 24 24" width="20px" x="0px" xml:space="preserve" y="0px"><path d="M8.59,16.59L13.17,12L8.59,7.41L10,6l6,6l-6,6L8.59,16.59z"></path><path d="M0,0h24v24H0V0z" fill="none"></path></svg></div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="dJ" style="clear: both; height: 0px; overflow: hidden;">
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
William O. Beemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06410196700886326533noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10089650.post-30309413546350722712019-07-10T18:03:00.003-07:002019-07-10T18:03:24.227-07:00William O. Beeman response to: "U.S. Accuses Iran of ‘Nuclear Extortion’ and Vows More Sanctions" NY Times July 10, 2019<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="_2FCtq-QzlfuN-SwVMUZMM3 dfgx7a-0 kjNmBN t3_cbom72" style="--posttitle-visitedlinkcolor: #9b9b9b; --posttitlelink-visitedlinkcolor: #9b9b9b; --posttitletextcolor: var(--newCommunityTheme-titleText); background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #878a8c; font-family: IBMPlexSans, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 8px 8px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<div class="y8HYJ-y_lTUHkQIc1mdCq _2INHSNB8V5eaWp4P0rY_mE" style="border: 0px; display: inline; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline; word-break: break-word;">
<div class="_2SdHzo12ISmrC8H86TgSCp _29WrubtjAcKqzJSPdQqQ4h " style="--posttitletextcolor: #1A1A1B; border: 0px; color: var(--posttitletextcolor); display: inline; font-family: inherit; font-size: 20px; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px 5px 0px 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" theme="[object Object]">
<h1 class="_eYtD2XCVieq6emjKBH3m" style="border: 0px; display: inline; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
William O. Beeman response to: "U.S. Accuses Iran of ‘Nuclear Extortion’ and Vows More Sanctions" NY Times July 10, 2019</h1>
</div>
</div>
<div class="_1hLrLjnE1G_RBCNcN9MVQf" style="border: 0px; font: inherit; left: -99999px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: absolute; top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; visibility: hidden;">
<img alt="" src="https://www.redditstatic.com/desktop2x/img/renderTimingPixel.png" style="border: 0px; font: inherit; height: 1px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 1px;" /></div>
</div>
<div class="_3xX726aBn29LDbsDtzr_6E dfgx7a-6 hsgMKY" data-click-id="text" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #878a8c; font-family: IBMPlexSans, Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 12px 0px 0px; max-width: 800px; padding: 5px 8px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<div class="_3ms2Z8z8rPWLXaErcTJ9yH" style="--rawhtmldisplay-tr-even: rgba(255,255,255,0.8); --rawhtmldisplay-tr-odd: rgba(237,239,241,0.8); border: 0px; color: #1a1a1b; font-family: "Noto Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; word-break: break-word;">
<div class="md" style="border: 0px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<div style="border: 0px; font: inherit; padding: 0px 0px 0.5em; vertical-align: baseline;">
<a href="https://nyti.ms/2XCgHTT#permid=101391426" style="border: 0px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">https://nyti.ms/2XCgHTT#permid=101391426</a><br />The United States pulls out of the JCPOA, tries to destroy Iran's economy, and vows "regime change," favoring the despised terrorist group, the Mujaheddin-e Khalk (MEK/MKO) to state a U.S. led coup. Then U.S. representatives have the absolute gall to accuse Iran of "nuclear extortion."</div>
<div style="border: 0px; font: inherit; padding: 0.5em 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
When will anyone pay attention to the fact that Iran is fully in compliance with the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) to which Iran and the United States along with nearly 200 other nations are signatories?</div>
<div style="border: 0px; font: inherit; padding: 0.5em 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
The NPT prohibits Iran from developing nuclear weapons. It also allows Iran to enrich uranium for peaceful purposes. Currently 19 other nations enrich uranium, and indeed, sell it abroad with no censure. Iran is the only nation singled out for their legal enrichment activities.</div>
<div style="border: 0px; font: inherit; padding: 0.5em 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
Iran is also abiding by the JCPOA. Paragraph 36 allows Iran to relax its nuclear activities if other parties to the agreement fail to live up to their obligations under the agreement. First and foremost among those not living up to their obligations is the United States, by virtue of its withdrawal. Iranians correctly claim that the other JCPOA signatories are also not living up to the agreement, because Iran is not receiving the sanctions relief promised by the agreement.</div>
<div style="border: 0px; font: inherit; padding: 0.5em 0px 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
It is not popular to defend Iran, but they are in the right here. The United States is profoundly wrong, and the Europeans are feckless and unwilling to step up and fulfill their obligations. "Nuclear extortion" indeed! Pot calling the kettle black!</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
William O. Beemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06410196700886326533noreply@blogger.com43tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10089650.post-59649070163269481172019-07-01T11:03:00.002-07:002019-07-01T11:03:14.317-07:00William O. Beeman response to: Trump’s Iran Strategy Will Fail. Here’s Why. ‘Maximum pressure’ will only strengthen the Revolutionary Guards, which has recast itself as the defender of a new, nationalist narrative. By Narges Bajoghli New York Times June 30, 2019<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="m_5711614060323545084gmail-css-1ep7e7p" id="m_5711614060323545084gmail-comment-content-0" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: nyt-franklin, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 0.875rem; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: 1.25rem; overflow-x: hidden; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">
<a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://nyti.ms/2NlXje2%23permid%3D101223229&source=gmail&ust=1562084747200000&usg=AFQjCNEx0ej9QWHwXaI0hrBu10EAfRdQng" href="https://nyti.ms/2NlXje2#permid=101223229" style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 0.875rem;" target="_blank">https://nyti.ms/2NlXje2#<wbr></wbr>permid=101223229</a></div>
<div class="m_5711614060323545084gmail-css-1ep7e7p" id="m_5711614060323545084gmail-comment-content-0" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: nyt-franklin, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 0.875rem; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: 1.25rem; overflow-x: hidden; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">
</div>
<div class="m_5711614060323545084gmail-css-1ep7e7p" id="m_5711614060323545084gmail-comment-content-0" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: nyt-franklin, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 0.875rem; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: 1.25rem; overflow-x: hidden; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">
<i>My response to: Trump’s Iran Strategy Will Fail. Here’s Why. ‘Maximum pressure’ will only strengthen the Revolutionary Guards, which has recast itself as the defender of a new, nationalist narrative. By Narges Bajoghli New York Times June 30, 2019</i></div>
<div class="m_5711614060323545084gmail-css-1ep7e7p" id="m_5711614060323545084gmail-comment-content-0" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: nyt-franklin, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 0.875rem; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: 1.25rem; overflow-x: hidden; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">
<br /></div>
<div class="m_5711614060323545084gmail-css-1ep7e7p" id="m_5711614060323545084gmail-comment-content-0" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: nyt-franklin, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 0.875rem; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: 1.25rem; overflow-x: hidden; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">
Thanks to Professor Bajoghli for this enlightening analysis based on solid field research. Thanks, too, to the Times Dr publishing it. Since the US government under Trump makes no effort to understand anything beyond their juvenile gut reactions, we can be grateful that there are still a few genuine researchers who are able to go deeper than the cartoon characterizations of Iran today, fraught with lies, myths and empty invective.
National Security Advisor John Bolton, accurately parodied by Gary Trudeau in Sunday's Doonesbury comic strip, is only the worst of the ignoramuses shaping our Iran "policy." There is plenty of uninformed chuckleheadedness to go around.
Nationalism was a major driving force in the Iranian Revolution of 1978-79. It was why the Iranian government turned against the US. Having tried to control Iran since World War II, Iranians were sick of American control of their government and destiny. Secular nationalists were the first post-Revolutionary leaders of Iran, usurped after six months by Ayatollah Khomeini and the religionists.
As Professor Bajoghli rightly states, the IGRC has tapped into that deep wellspring of universal Iranian nationalist sentiment, which ironically protects the religious conservatives as well. Iranians will resist fiercely
Trump's attacks on the IGRC have been turned against him. His attacks will never bring about the "regime change" Bolton and his ilk lust after. We truly have the most ignorant fools running this clown show.</div>
<div class="m_5711614060323545084gmail-css-tr0r3x" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: nyt-franklin, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 15px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">
<div style="border: 0px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<br class="m_5711614060323545084gmail-Apple-interchange-newline" /></div>
</div>
</div>
William O. Beemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06410196700886326533noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10089650.post-72480462263100040262019-06-26T11:08:00.002-07:002019-06-26T11:08:22.327-07:00William O. Beeman answers to Questions on U.S.-Iranian Relations posed by Persia Digest<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="s1wjcqzz-10 lkEbBw" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #1a1a1b; font-family: "Noto Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; padding: 0px 0px 0.25em; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span class="s1wjcqzz-14 gDfnDS" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: 700; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">William O. Beeman (WB) answers to Questions posed by</span> <em class="s1wjcqzz-15 eVRrwT" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="s1wjcqzz-14 gDfnDS" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: 700; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Persia Digest</span></em></div>
<div class="s1wjcqzz-10 lkEbBw" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #1a1a1b; font-family: "Noto Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; padding: 0.25em 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<em class="s1wjcqzz-15 eVRrwT" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Persia Digest: Tensions between the US and Iran have been on the rise in recent weeks. Although President Trump says he does not want war, he has threatened Iran with “complete obliteration”. In return, Iran has shown its readiness to defend itself by downing a US drone in its airspace. It will also begin the second phase of scaling back its commitments under the 2015 JCPOA nuclear deal on 7 July. The EU has warned Iran against abrogating the JCPOA. Under these circumstances. We posed these questions to William O. Beeman, internationally known expert on Iran-U.S. relations.</em> </div>
<div class="s1wjcqzz-10 lkEbBw" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #1a1a1b; font-family: "Noto Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; padding: 0.25em 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-weight: inherit;">1. Iranian politicians, and especially its military commanders, believe the chances of a military strike on Iran by Trump are minimal. As Trump’s presidential campaign has been formally launched, does such an interpretation also exist in the US (officials, the media, public opinion).</span></blockquote>
<br />
<div class="s1wjcqzz-10 lkEbBw" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #1a1a1b; font-family: "Noto Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; padding: 0.25em 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
WB: American commentators are of two minds. Some believe that Trump will not risk a war with Iran because it will damage his re-election chances. He promised not to involve Americans in any further Middle East conflicts when he campaigned for the last election, so keeping the U.S. out of war would be fulfilling his campaign promise.</div>
<div class="s1wjcqzz-10 lkEbBw" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #1a1a1b; font-family: "Noto Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; padding: 0.25em 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
On the other hand, many commentators note that for a presidential re-election, a war is a good thing, because it fires up patriotism in the country, and people will often say that they “don’t want to change horses mid-stream” meaning they don’t want to change leaders in the middle of a conflict.</div>
<div class="s1wjcqzz-10 lkEbBw" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #1a1a1b; font-family: "Noto Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; padding: 0.25em 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
But what both positions are really stating is that for Trump, the decision as to whether to engage Iran in conflict is not a military or a security decision. It is purely a political decision. This is consistent with everything Trump does. He seems to care nothing for American security or the welfare of the United States (or the world). He only cares about himself and his political needs. He has accurately been described as a narcissist and an egomaniac.</div>
<div class="s1wjcqzz-10 lkEbBw" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #1a1a1b; font-family: "Noto Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; padding: 0.25em 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
It is a great shame that so many people must suffer for the sake of one selfish person, but that is unfortunately the situation with Donald J. Trump.</div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #1a1a1b; font-family: "Noto Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; padding: 0.25em 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
2. Iranian officials, including President Rouhani and Foreign Minister Zarif, have repeatedly said that Iran will not negotiate under pressure, but it will respond to politeness with politeness. Why is President Trump not willing to travel down this path instead of applying maximum pressure to reach its goal (negotiations for a deal with Iran)?</blockquote>
<div class="s1wjcqzz-10 lkEbBw" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #1a1a1b; font-family: "Noto Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; padding: 0.25em 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
WB: Trump advertises himself as a “tough negotiator.” He has done this all his life. In his career as a real-estate investor he regularly cheated people, not paying them for work they did. When they complained, he sued them. He believes that the way to negotiate is to never apologize, never let up pressure, and never concede anything. Unfortunately, his advisors, National Security Advisor, John Bolton, and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo also believe that the only way to negotiate with Iran is to show force, never concede anything, and to be as tough as possible. They truly believe that maximum pressure and no diplomacy is the way to force Iran to negotiate, and they believe that they will get 100% of what they want and Iran will get nothing. President Theodore Roosevelt a century ago said that in diplomacy you need to “speak softly but carry a big stick.” Some commentators in the U.S. point out that Trump’s philosophy is “all stick.”</div>
<div class="s1wjcqzz-10 lkEbBw" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #1a1a1b; font-family: "Noto Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; padding: 0.25em 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
I have written extensively on <em class="s1wjcqzz-15 eVRrwT" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">ta’arof</em> in Iran. Trump will never understand <em class="s1wjcqzz-15 eVRrwT" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">ta’arof,</em> and this creates a great divide in negotiating styles. It might be wise for Iranian leaders to understand that Trump is 72 years old and is never going to change his negotiating style. For this reason, Iranian leaders must find another way. By the way, one aspect of ta’arof is something that Trump responds to, and that is flattery. Leaders like Putin and Kim Jong Il have extracted a lot of concessions from Trump by flattering him extensively. This is probably not what Iranian leaders are prepared to do, but it does work with Trump.</div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #1a1a1b; font-family: "Noto Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; padding: 0.25em 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
3. Despite compliance with the JCPOA (as confirmed by the IAEA), Iran has faced a severe sanctions regime over the past year. If Iran leaves the JCPOA, it will face even further sanctions. So, what policy should Iran adopt?</blockquote>
<div class="s1wjcqzz-10 lkEbBw" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #1a1a1b; font-family: "Noto Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; padding: 0.25em 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
WB: At this point, Iran has been sanctioned to the max, so leaving the JCPOA is not likely to make much difference in terms of sanctions. However, staying within the JCPOA provides Iran with a moral high ground. I need to point out that aside from the JCPOA, Iran is a signatory to the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT). Leaving the JCPOA places Iran in potential violation of the NPT. In fact the entire negotiation leading to the JCPOA was to ensure that Iran would be in compliance with the NPT. Iran argued, correctly in my opinion, that the NPT allowed for enrichment of uranium for peaceful purposes. The Bush administration took the position that uranium enrichment was not “automatically” allowed under the NPT. Leaving the JCPOA will raise this question once again, and if Iran decides to leave the JCPOA it should be prepared to once again face the United Nations over the NPT question.</div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #1a1a1b; font-family: "Noto Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; padding: 0.25em 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
4. Many international analysts believe that maximum pressure to change Iran’s approach has failed, or it will not lead anywhere. What will Trump do if he reaches the same conclusion? Would his Plan B be a war?</blockquote>
<div class="s1wjcqzz-10 lkEbBw" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #1a1a1b; font-family: "Noto Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; padding: 0.25em 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
WB: It is impossible to tell what Trump will do when he realizes that his plan of maximum pressure has not worked. There is no question that there are other actors here. Netanyahu in Israel, MBS in Saudi Arabia and some of the princes in the UAE are urging the United States to attack Iran. Of course, they want the United States to fight a war for them. Trump has been flattered by these leaders, and may be enticed into conflict with Iran. John Bolton, Mike Pompeo and others are clearly trying to engineer a situation where Iran will launch a “first strike” against the United States. They want Iran to start the war so that they can claim that the United States is innocent. I urge Iranian leaders to resist this “baiting” at all costs. Iran has never launched a first strike against any nation for the past 300 years. It should not start now.</div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #1a1a1b; font-family: "Noto Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; padding: 0.25em 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
5. After years of talks with the West, Iran finally reached a clear agreement on its nuclear program. But Trump effectively put an end to it. Would you still trust the West and the US to negotiate with if you were in place of the Iranian leaders?</blockquote>
<div class="s1wjcqzz-10 lkEbBw" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #1a1a1b; font-family: "Noto Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; padding: 0.25em 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
WB: I trust “the West.” I do not trust Trump. He withdrew from the JCPOA largely because it was negotiated by President Obama. Trump has tried to destroy everything that Obama did. He didn’t understand the JCPOA, and I doubt that he has even read it. He seemed to think that it was some kind of transaction, like a real-estate transaction, where the United States gave Iran $150 billion, and didn’t get anything in return. He either ignored or failed to understand that the money was Iran’s money which was owed by the United States.</div>
<div class="s1wjcqzz-10 lkEbBw" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #1a1a1b; font-family: "Noto Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; padding: 0.25em 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
European allies and signatories to the JCPOA understood the agreement very well, and they have been trying to find a way to stay in the deal and bypass American sanctions. The difficulty is that so much of the world’s commerce involves the United States dollar, and United States banking and financial institutions that there is no way for Europeans or others to deal with Iran and to avoid violating the prohibitions placed by the United States in dealing with Iran using dollars and U,S. institutions. The Europeans have been trying to find another financial arrangement that bypasses the United States, but it has been extremely difficult.</div>
<div class="s1wjcqzz-10 lkEbBw" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #1a1a1b; font-family: "Noto Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; padding: 0.25em 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
By the way, there is no prohibition on Iran to sell oil or petroleum products. The only prohibition levied by the United States is against people <em class="s1wjcqzz-15 eVRrwT" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">buying</em> Iranian petroleum products using dollars or U.S. institutions.</div>
<div class="s1wjcqzz-10 lkEbBw" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #1a1a1b; font-family: "Noto Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; padding: 0.25em 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-size: 14px;">At least one analyst claims that Trump’s decision to exit the JCPOA and to levy sanctions was due to Iran’s attempt to get petroleum sales denominated in Euros rather than dollars in 2003 </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">[</span><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petrocurrency&source=gmail&ust=1561655344079000&usg=AFQjCNE_4RJw1XdMBe5aIoeFLaxjexegYg" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petrocurrency" style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" target="_blank">https://en.wikipedia.org/<wbr></wbr>wiki/Petrocurrency</a><span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">]. </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">but pressed again in 2017</span></span><span style="font-size: 14px;">. This is an intriguing theory, and it may be true. But it attributes too much intelligence to Trump, who I don’t believe knows anything at all about international trade. </span></div>
<div class="s1wjcqzz-10 lkEbBw" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #1a1a1b; font-family: "Noto Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; padding: 0.25em 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-size: 14px;">________________</span></div>
<div class="s1wjcqzz-10 lkEbBw" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #1a1a1b; font-family: "Noto Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; padding: 0.25em 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: SimSun; mso-fareast-language: ZH-CN;">William O. Beeman is Professor and Chair of
Anthropology at the University of Minnesota. A linguistic anthropologist best
known as a Middle East Specialist for more than 40 years, he has also worked in
Central Asia, the Caucasus, Japan, China and South Asia. Recognized for special
expertise in Iranian culture and linguistics, he is the author or editor of
more than 100 scholarly articles, 500 opinion pieces and 14 books, including <i>Language,
Status and Power in Iran, </i>and <i>The "Great Satan" vs. the
"Mad Mullahs": How the United States and Iran Demonize Each Other</i>.
He has been a consultant to the Department of State, the Department of Defense,
the United Nations and the European Union on Middle Eastern affairs. </span></div>
<div class="s1wjcqzz-10 lkEbBw" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #1a1a1b; font-family: "Noto Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; padding: 0.25em 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-size: 14px;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
</div>
William O. Beemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06410196700886326533noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10089650.post-35218270158442200992019-06-25T19:14:00.003-07:002019-06-25T19:14:36.111-07:00William O. Beeman Commentary on Friedman: "Trump Takes On China and Persia at Once. What’s to Worry About?" June 25, 2019<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="https://nyti.ms/2XwT9nA#permid=101132714">https://nyti.ms/2XwT9nA#permid=101132714</a><br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: nyt-franklin, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; white-space: pre-wrap;">One thing I can guarantee. Any change in government in Iran that is engineered by the United States will fail utterly and completely.
The United States has been meddling in Iran since World War II, and it has inherited the mantle of pre-World War II Great Britain in doing so. (Many Iranians continue to blame Great Britain for their woes). This has happened so relentlessly and so continuously, that it has engendered a habit of certitude in Iran that, given the slightest chance, the United States will do its damnedest to destroy Iran and its institutions.
This happened in 1953 with the CIA overthrow of Prime Minister Mossadeq and the installation of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. It happend during the Iran-Iraq war, when the U.S. aided Saddam Hussain to fight Iran to a standstill. Then there are the economic sanctions designed to cripple and destroy the country. There are many, many other incidents that reinforce this picture.
The Algiers accords that ended the 444 day hostage crisis extracted a promise from the U.S. that it would "never again interfere in Iran's internal affairs." Well, that promise was almost instantly broken, and now we have Bolton, Pompeo and Trump trying to enact regime change with the despised terrorist organization Mujaheddin-e Khalq (MEK) riding on Bolton's coattails.
Iranians are pressing for internal reform. But they must do it themselves. The United States will destroy this possibility if it continues its interference. No one trusts us in Iran!</span></div>
William O. Beemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06410196700886326533noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10089650.post-27853168272150492412019-06-24T17:31:00.002-07:002019-06-24T17:31:31.269-07:00William O. Beeman response to "Trump Imposes New Economic Sanctions on Iran, Adding to Tensions" June 22, 2019<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="https://nyti.ms/2X33WkY#permid=101099625">https://nyti.ms/2X33WkY#permid=101099625</a><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: nyt-franklin, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Placing restrictions on Ayatollah Khamene'i is the most ridiculous measure Trump could have taken. First, Ayatollah Khamene'i is Iran's spiritual leader. He has a gigantic foundation with billions of dollars used to support religious activities such as orphanages, schools and seminaries. Trump is attacking Shi'a Islam itself with this move, and that is how it will be interpreted in Iran. Just wait for Friday prayers this week!
If Trump, Bolton, Pompeo and Brian Hook think this is the kind of pressure that will force Iran to collapse, buckle, surrender, etc., they are sadly mistaken. This action is going to result in a hardening of Iranian resolve.
It is hard to underestimate the ignorance Trump and his team are demonstrating about Iranian culture, society, and reactions to pressure from external forces. They see relations with the United States and Great Britain before World War II as a continual campaign to control Iranian internal affairs. That was the crux of the Revolution of 1978-79. It is not likely that they will abandon this frame of mind, especially with foolish megalomaniacs like John Bolton continually screaming for "regime change" and threatening to replace the current government with the despised and inept terrorist group, the Mujaheddin-e Khalq (MEK).
Who will smack Trump across the forehead with a board to get him to wake up and stop pursuing this abortive, ineffectual and dangerous course. Perhaps when the shooting starts!</span></div>
William O. Beemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06410196700886326533noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10089650.post-66927591306534657842019-06-21T21:04:00.004-07:002019-06-21T21:04:58.724-07:00William O. Beeman Commentary on "Distress and Defiance in Iran" NY Times June 21, 2019 <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="css-qm7y3c" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; display: flex; font-family: nyt-franklin, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 5px; padding: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%; vertical-align: baseline; width: 433.333px;">
<div class="css-1y6ic72" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%; vertical-align: baseline;">
<div class="css-flr6nt" style="border: 0px; display: inline-block; float: right; font-family: inherit; font-size: 0.737rem; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: 700; line-height: 1.05rem; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: nowrap;">
<br /></div>
<div class="css-flr6nt" style="border: 0px; display: inline-block; float: right; font-family: inherit; font-size: 0.737rem; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: 700; line-height: 1.05rem; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: nowrap;">
<br /></div>
<div class="css-flr6nt" style="border: 0px; display: inline-block; float: right; font-family: inherit; font-size: 0.737rem; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: 700; line-height: 1.05rem; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: nowrap;">
<br /></div>
<div class="css-flr6nt" style="border: 0px; display: inline-block; float: right; font-family: inherit; font-size: 0.737rem; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: 700; line-height: 1.05rem; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: nowrap;">
<br /></div>
<div class="css-flr6nt" style="border: 0px; display: inline-block; float: right; font-family: inherit; font-size: 0.737rem; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: 700; line-height: 1.05rem; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: nowrap;">
<br /></div>
<div class="css-flr6nt" style="border: 0px; display: inline-block; float: right; font-family: inherit; font-size: 0.737rem; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: 700; line-height: 1.05rem; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: nowrap;">
<br /></div>
<div class="css-flr6nt" style="border: 0px; display: inline-block; float: right; font-family: inherit; font-size: 0.737rem; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: 700; line-height: 1.05rem; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: nowrap;">
<br /></div>
<div class="css-flr6nt" style="border: 0px; display: inline-block; float: right; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: 700; line-height: 1.05rem; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-size: 0.737rem; white-space: nowrap;">NY Times Pick</span></div>
<div class="css-flr6nt" style="border: 0px; display: inline-block; float: right; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: 700; line-height: 1.05rem; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-size: 11.792px; white-space: nowrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 14px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="https://nyti.ms/2Ixe6Gv#permid=101074823">https://nyti.ms/2Ixe6Gv#permid=101074823</a></span></div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="css-199z855" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%; vertical-align: baseline; word-break: break-word;">
<div class="css-1ep7e7p" id="comment-content-0" style="border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: inherit; font-size: 0.875rem; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.25rem; overflow-x: hidden; padding: 0px; text-size-adjust: 100%; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">
American chicken hawks like John Bolton and Sen. Tom Cotton salivating over the prospect of an Iranian government collapse should think twice. Iranians are fiercely patriotic and willing to withstand enormous hardship to preserve their nation.
Above all, foolish monomaniacs like Bolton should abandon the fantasy that the terrorist organization, the Mujaheddin-e Khlaq (MEK) could ever assume power in Iran. The MEK was demonstrating today in front of the State Department for regime change with the shameful participation of US current and former officials. The MEK is despised in Iran, and if the United States tried to install them in power, that very US connection would absolutely doom them. Iranians are sick of American interference.
Mr. Abdoh makes an extremely important point. Iran is hurting, yes. But since the 1980s Iran has developed a robust internal economy, and a remarkable infrastructural capacity. It has the capacity to produce everything it needs to survive an American imposed siege. There are some exceptions. Specialized medicine is in short supply. Medicine should be completely exempt from sanctions, but somehow crucial medical supplies are not making their way into the public market. This humanitarian crisis must be alleviated. If Europe and other supporters of the JCPOA are serious, they should come to the aid of the normal citizens of Iran who are caught between the towering egos of Trump and the Iranian establishment.</div>
</div>
</div>
William O. Beemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06410196700886326533noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10089650.post-56674785914574059022019-06-20T11:11:00.000-07:002019-06-20T11:11:36.253-07:00William O. Beeman response to "After Iran’s Drone Attack, Trump Says He ‘Would Not Stand for It’" NY Times June 20, 2019<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<span style="background-color: #f7f7f7; font-size: 14px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: nyt-franklin, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"><a href="https://nyti.ms/31NbyeY#permid=101052941">https://nyti.ms/31NbyeY#permid=101052941</a></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: #f7f7f7; color: #333333; font-family: nyt-franklin, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: #f7f7f7; color: #333333; font-family: nyt-franklin, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; white-space: pre-wrap;">There are many important considerations in this incident.
1. It is claimed that the drone was shot down in international air space. Closer inspection of this claim shows that it was in fact very close to Iranian air space--virtually on the border. It is not improbable that the drone first violated Iranian air space, and then flew out into the international space. This is consistent with the United States baiting Iran into violation. This needs to be carefully investigated.
2. Trump, based on intelligence briefings, suggested that this could have been a rogue action by the IRGC. This is highly probable. Whether "rogue" or not, such an action would have been pre-authorized if the drone did in fact violate Iranian air space. There is definitely room for a mistake in personal judgment in this case.
3. The IRGC has recently had its wings clipped by the Iranian government. Many of its resources have been transferred to the regular Iranian Army. This has created a great deal of anger in the IRGC. But from the standpoint of the US, this is in fact a positive response of the Iranian government to US and International demands.
4. Along these lines, the IRGC was initially created to prevent a counter-coup to the Revolution of 1978-79 as a para-military force. It has grown to be a severe problem within Iran itself. Though the Iranian government won't admit it, they are concerned about its influence. This action could be a protest from the IRGC to embarrass Tehran. </span></div>
William O. Beemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06410196700886326533noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10089650.post-74471071370575913622019-06-19T16:38:00.001-07:002019-06-19T16:38:08.877-07:00William O. Beeman Comment on "Iran Has Ties to Al Qaeda, Trump Officials Tell Skeptical Congress" New York Times, June 19, 2019. Claim of Iran's ties to Al-Qaeda is a total lie.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="s1wqkn5k-10 dUGaIS" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #1a1a1b; font-family: "Noto Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; padding: 0px 0px 0.25em; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span class="s1wqkn5k-14 blZSwJ" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: 700; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">New York Times, June 19, 2019</span></div>
<div class="s1wqkn5k-10 dUGaIS" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #1a1a1b; font-family: "Noto Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; padding: 0px 0px 0.25em; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span class="s1wqkn5k-14 blZSwJ" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: 700; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/19/us/politics/us-iran.html#permid=101038251">https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/19/us/politics/us-iran.html#permid=101038251</a></span></div>
<div class="s1wqkn5k-10 dUGaIS" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #1a1a1b; font-family: "Noto Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; padding: 0px 0px 0.25em; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span class="s1wqkn5k-14 blZSwJ" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: 700; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="s1wqkn5k-10 dUGaIS" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #1a1a1b; font-family: "Noto Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; padding: 0px 0px 0.25em; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span class="s1wqkn5k-14 blZSwJ" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: 700; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Time out. Stop. The claim that Iran has ties to Al Qaeda is a complete and total lie.</span></div>
<div class="s1wqkn5k-10 dUGaIS" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #1a1a1b; font-family: "Noto Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; padding: 0.25em 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span class="s1wqkn5k-14 blZSwJ" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: 700; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The Trump team must be getting desperate. It is true that Iran allowed some escaping relatives of Osama bin Laden to stay in Iran for a time, but this is a far cry from Iran having ties to Al Qaeda. Al Qaeda is an extreme reactionary Sunni faction of the Hanbali school of Islam. They are Wahhabi/Salafi in orientation (the Wahhabis and Salafis claim that they are different, but they espouse the same extreme views). They espouse killing of Shi'a Muslims as "not a sin," because they view Shi'ism as heretical. They have made this pronouncement many, many times. Persecution of Hazara Shi'a Muslims in Afghanistan is directly related to Al Qaeda and Taliban calls to murder them.</span></div>
<div class="s1wqkn5k-10 dUGaIS" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #1a1a1b; font-family: "Noto Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; padding: 0.25em 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span class="s1wqkn5k-14 blZSwJ" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: 700; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">So is it even slightly plausible that Iran is somehow tied to Al Qaeda?</span></div>
<div class="s1wqkn5k-10 dUGaIS" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #1a1a1b; font-family: "Noto Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; padding: 0.25em 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span class="s1wqkn5k-14 blZSwJ" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: 700; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Republicans and neoconservatives tried to make this false equation during the Bush administration as a way to convince Republicans to attack Iran and effect regime change. This didn't work then, and Congressional representatives, no matter how much they dislike Iran, should not buy this utter garbage argument. It is being promulgated for the same aim as in 2003--namely to garner support for regime change in Iran.</span></div>
<div class="s1wqkn5k-10 dUGaIS" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #1a1a1b; font-family: "Noto Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; padding: 0.25em 0px 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span class="s1wqkn5k-14 blZSwJ" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: 700; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Message to Congress: Don't buy this utter lie!</span></div>
</div>
William O. Beemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06410196700886326533noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10089650.post-29248465714635899222019-06-18T14:05:00.002-07:002019-06-18T14:05:29.566-07:00Why the United States Will Fail at Regime Change in Iran <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div dir="auto" style="background-color: white;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://nyti.ms/2FiiLKy#permid=101015180">https://nyti.ms/2FiiLKy#permid=101015180</a></span></div>
<div dir="auto" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">
<br /></div>
<div dir="auto" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">
<br /></div>
<div dir="auto" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">
The Trump administration has no end game for removing its economic blocade. The Trump team claims that they don't seek the destruction of the Iranian government, but that is exactly their naive aim. Lets examine why this is an incredibly stupid goal.</div>
<div dir="auto" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">
<br /></div>
<div dir="auto" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">
First, Iran is governed by a stable constitution that has been scrupulously observed for forty years since its inception. Regime change would mean trashing the Constitution. Not likely!</div>
<div dir="auto" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">
<br /></div>
<div dir="auto" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">
The nation is not a dictatorship, although Ayatollah Khamene'i does have the last word on many issues. Its presidents have served their terms and left office, replaced through elections that for the most part free and fair (the 2009 election being the possible exception). It has an active parliament with clear political factions and lively debate. Laws are not rubber stamped.</div>
<div dir="auto" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">
<br /></div>
<div dir="auto" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">
Second, there is no viable replacement for the current government. Bolton seems to entertain the fantasy that the Mujaheddin-e Khalq (MEK) could take over. This terrorist group is despised in Iran. They could never rule. </div>
<div dir="auto" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">
<br /></div>
<div dir="auto" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">
Third, Iran has a robust internal economy. it is capable of producing everything it needs to be viable including food. building material and technical equipment. Unlike Iraq, Iran would easily survive a siege.</div>
<div dir="auto" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">
<br /></div>
<div dir="auto" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">
Finally, Iran is huge, with a population of 80 million and a potential fighting force of 20 million. Iran survived a debilitating 8 year war with Iraq with immense patriotic fervor. A US war for regime change would be an unmitigated disaster. </div>
<div class="adL" dir="auto" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">
<br /></div>
<div class="yj6qo" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
</div>
</div>
William O. Beemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06410196700886326533noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10089650.post-46433306857082701582019-05-06T09:00:00.002-07:002019-05-06T16:17:17.213-07:00My Responses to an Iranian Journalist on Current Iranian Affairs<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Responses to an Iranian Journalist on Current Iranian Affairs<br />
<br />
William O. Beeman<br />
<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0px 0px 0px 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;">
<div dir="ltr">
Q1: On Friday, US President Donald Trump’s administration renewed five of seven sanctions waivers that allow Russia and European nations to conduct civilian nuclear cooperation with Iran but revoked the other two as part of its pressure campaign against Tehran, according to the US State Department. Washington also stopped issuing waivers to buy Iranian crude oil on Thursday. Before the US moves, Iranian officials, including Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Major General Mohammad Hossein Baqeri, had warned against their consequences. What is your assessment of the developments and how do you think about Iran’s possible reaction to the US decision?</div>
</blockquote>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="gmail_default" style="font-size: small;">
I believe the U.S. actions were unwarranted and will eventually be dangerous for the world. However, they were not sudden or unanticipated. The waivers were always temporary, and had an expiration date last week that was announced some time ago. There is actually no restriction on Iran exporting petroleum products. The restriction is on the buyers. The United States has a stranglehold on Iranian oil purchases because they are denominated in U.S. dollars, or in transactions that pass through U.S. Banks. Also the United States has threatened sanctions against any nation that purchases Iranian oil. The U.S. action has yet to be tested, however. There is an open question of what might happen if nations violate the U.S. restrictions. Maybe the U.S. would retaliate, Maybe it wouldn't. I will guarantee one thing, and that is that the United States doesn't know HOW it will enforce its threats, which remain just threats for the time being. My feeling is that Iran should go ahead and find customers for its oil that are willing to take a chance that the U.S. will not be able to enforce its restrictions--but I am not in charge. I still think it is a very good bet that the U.S. threats are mostly bluff and bluster, but Iran's customers, such as Italy, Turkey, India, and Japan are nervous about what MIGHT happen, so they are hesitant to defy Washington.</div>
<div class="gmail_default" style="font-size: small;">
<br /></div>
<div class="gmail_default" style="font-size: small;">
I do want to emphasize one thing. Iran has a very robust internal economy. The United States doesn't seem to understand this. Of course, most of Iran's foreign exchange comes from oil sales, but Iran has enormous natural resources, and its manufacturing capacity is also very strong. The nation is capable of producing enough food for itself and for export. So yes, the loss of income from oil will be very painful, but if the people of Iran are resolute and patriotic, Iran can not only survive, but also forge ahead economically by continuing to support the internal economy. </div>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0px 0px 0px 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;">
<div dir="ltr">
<br />
Q2: As you know, Zarif was recently in the US. In multiple interviews with US media outlets and a roundtable with reporters in New York last week, he made the case that a group dubbed “the B-Team” was goading the US toward conflict with Iran, not Trump. The B-team is a group of advisers and foreign leaders whose names share the same letter: National Security Adviser John Bolton, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin “Bibi” Netanyahu, Saudi Arabia’s de facto leader Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS), and the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan (MBZ). What is your take on Zarif’s remarks? How do you assess the message of his trip to the US?</div>
</blockquote>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="gmail_default" style="font-size: small;">
These leaders who are spoiling for conflict with Iran are led by John Bolton, Mike Pompeo and many informal "advisors" in organizations like the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) and its subsidiary, the Washington Institute for Near East Policy (WINEP). These are sometimes identified as "neo-conservatives." They have been calling for military conflict with Iran for more than 25 years. The America Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) has also called for conflict with Iran. Their main goal is "regime change." They believe that if economic conditions worsen in Iran, the Iranian people will overthrow the Islamic republic and install leaders that are more acceptable to Washington. However, they have no idea who these new Iranian leaders might be. Sadly, people like John Bolton has been courting the Mujaheddin-e Khalq (MEK) for many years. Not too long ago, he met with an assembly of MEK supporters in Europe and implied that the United States would support a MEK coup. Thes chances of this being successful are of course nearly zero, but that is indicative of the ignorance of people like Bolton. Nevertheless, with such a person in a position of power, the danger to Iran is still very important. </div>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0px 0px 0px 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;">
<div dir="ltr">
<br />
Q3: Zarif recently said he plans to visit North Korea in the near future. What do you think about possible objectives behind his trip and do you think that it would have links with his recent trip to the US?</div>
</blockquote>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<span class="gmail_default" style="font-size: x-small;">Foreign Minister Zarif is going to North Korea in order to rattle Washington. There is no reason he should not go, but I don't believe much can come of such a meeting in practical terms. It will get some press, and will trigger some negative comments from Trump and Pompeo, but at a time when Trump is trying to emphasize that he "loves" Kim Jong Il, having Iran making overtures to North Korea creates bad political optics for Trump. Of course, the implication is that Iran might start its nuclear program again, and that North Korea might help. Actually, that is the only thing that Korea could offer Iran, except perhaps being willing to buy some petroleum products (insignificant market). Thus far I don't see Iran making such a dramatic move, but that is what some people in the press and in Washington will claim. </span></div>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0px 0px 0px 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;">
<div dir="ltr">
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">
<br /></div>
</div>
</blockquote>
</div>
William O. Beemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06410196700886326533noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10089650.post-20961776154279606452018-12-25T17:48:00.003-08:002018-12-25T17:48:52.890-08:00The United States Must End Support for the Yemen Genocide <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="https://nyti.ms/2GCDL1G#permid=29894193">https://nyti.ms/2GCDL1G#permid=29894193</a><br />
<br />
The United States Must End Support for the Yemen Genocide<br />
William O. Beeman<br />
Comment for New York Times<br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: nyt-franklin, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; white-space: pre-wrap;">The United States' despicable support for Saudi Arabian genocide in Yemen cannot be dismissed by claiming opposition to Iran. Iranian involvement is minimal, and only started well after the Saudis began this slaughter. The Houthis are NOT rebels. They are Zayidi Muslims, a branch of Shi'ism. The Zayidis ruled Yemen from the 9th Century until the 1970s. So this is a civil war, not a rebellion.
Moreover, the Houthis/Zayidis have already effectively won. The Saudis are trying to dislodge them at this point through genocidical action. The Saudis see the Zayidis as a threat, because they also live across the Yemeni border in Southern Saudi Arabia.
We must get this blood off our hands, and stop the carpet bombing murder of innocent civilians. Rather than providing military support to Saudi Arabia, we should be pressuring Riyadh to support a cease fire and a peaceful settlement.</span></div>
William O. Beemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06410196700886326533noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10089650.post-67882446859646481172018-12-09T10:41:00.003-08:002018-12-09T10:42:41.247-08:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<b><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://nyti.ms/2zR5QN4#permid=29682290" target="_blank">Americans are Misled on Yemen Conflict</a></span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b>
<b>William O. Beeman</b><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Americans have been fed an enormous lie about the conflict in Yemen. The Houthis (named after their current leader) are NOT "rebels." They are, in fact, members of the Zaidi community of Shi'a Muslims. They ruled Yemen from the 9th Century until the 1970s when North and South Yemen (a former British colony) were re-united. The Zaidis were then persecuted by the Sunni leadership in Sana'a. Their movement is in reaction to that persecution, and is an effort to regain their historic control of the country.
The Zaidis also live in Southern Saudi Arabia, precariously close to Jeddah, Mecca and Medina, and that is the problem. They have effectively won the civil war. They occupy the capital, and most large centers of population.
But the Saudis are afraid that if they fully establish control over Yemen, their Saudi residents will challenge the Royal Family. The Saudis have therefore launched this monstrous humanitarian crisis to try and eliminate the Zaidis.
They have sold the lie that somehow the Zaidis would not have tried to re-establish their sovereignty unless instigated by Iran. This plays into the US enmity against Iran, and the utterly false narrative that Yemen is some kind of Iranian expansion project.
Yes, Iran has provided some aid to the Zaidis/Houthis, but the aid has not been extensive, or, more important, decisive. The Zaidi/Houthis have achieved their gains on their own.
Simply stated, the Saudis are practicing genocide. The US should not participate.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="https://nyti.ms/2zR5QN4#permid=29682290" style="font-size: medium; white-space: normal;">https://nyti.ms/2zR5QN4#permid=29682290</a></span></div>
William O. Beemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06410196700886326533noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10089650.post-65437073076259507012015-06-22T06:49:00.000-07:002015-06-22T06:49:10.590-07:00Iranians Overwhelmingly Favor Lausanne/Vienna Accords<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="gmail_default" style="font-size: small;">
I have just returned
from a three-week trip in Iran in which I interviewed hundreds of
Iranian citizens. I have written several reports of my trip. They are a
bit unrefined and I will be editing them into a much longer piece. I
think many know that I speak fluent, unaccented Persian, so I am able to
talk with Iranians of all ages, ethnicities, education and income
levels quite easily. <br /><br />Basically my conclusions are that most
Iranians are very hopeful that the Vienna talks will be successful. They
never talk about nuclear energy or nuclear weapons. They only talk
about the lifting of sanctions. <br /><br />Young people in particular see
success in the talks as benefiting the problem of unemployment for
university graduates. Four million Iranians will graduate with their
"lisans" (undergraduate degree) this year. That is 5% of the entire
Iranian population--a huge number. For lower-income Iranians this
unemployment situation is the result of great unhappiness. Many families
have sacrificed greatly to send their children to college. If they
attend the Daneshgah-ye Azad, they must pay tuition. This varies by
faculty, but it seems to be about 1 million tomans per semester. Middle
and upper class Iranians can pay this, but for the lower income groups
it is very hard. Of course attending government institutions is free,
but many students still have to work to support themselves. <br /><br />More
realistic (one might say, cynical) people believe that the lifting of
sanctions will not result in immediate benefits for the less affluent
populations. The most cynical people say that if sanctions are lifted it
will only really benefit the very wealthy who are going to be best
prepared for foreign investment, which, based on the enormous number of
foreign businessmen and women I met seems to be inevitable. Iran's GDP
growth was in excess of 3% last year by independent measures (World
Bank, IMF) which exceeds that of the United States. Iran's absolute
poverty level stands at 12%, but the United States is at 15% as is
Australia and Japan. <br /><br />And why not extensive international
investment? Iran is prepared for it already. One of the most important
things I learned on this trip was that Iran has developed an extremely
robust internal economy and that highly developed infrastructure has
emerged since the revolution--and aided by the sanctions (which
insulated Iran from the global recession, paradoxically). One can see
this everywhere. There are factories, mining facilities and thriving
businesses in every part of the country we visited--Tehran, Zanjan,
Hamadan, Kermanshah, Khorramabad, Ahwaz, Shiraz, Yazd, Isfahan, Na'in
and Kashan. Roads--four-lane divided highways between major cities--are
better than any other nation in the region. Railroads are expanding and
air transport covers the entire nation with frequent service. The roads
are full of commercial transport vehicles loaded with agricultural and
consumer goods and basic materials such as stone, wood, petroleum
products and manufactured building materials. International business
people come and see industrial and commercial facilities and networks
that are already established and working full-steam. No primary
investment will be necessary for international partners in many
cases--only expansion both of the scope of manufacturing and in
marketing and distribution. <br /><br />Agriculture has greatly expanded (at
the expense of water resources, however). The nation is groaning with
high-quality food. The produce is beautiful and abundant as the amount
of land under cultivation has expanded tremendously. This is an
incredible difference from the period just before the revolution when
Iran was importing so much food. <br /><br />Again, the cynics in Iran point
out that much of the import economy is controlled by the Revolutionary
Guard officers and other high public officials. People on the street
told me over and over that these people oppose the Lausanne/Vienna
accords because their grip on imports will be broken if the markets are
opened. <br /><br />So we have a curious paradox. Everyone I talked to,
without exception wanted the accords to succeed. Many emphasized not the
economic benefits but rather the need for "friendship" between the
United States and Iran. One elderly Qashqa'i woman put it succinctly:
"Why can't we just be friends. Why all this fighting? Who does it help?"<br /><br />In the United States we have several factors that create opposition to the Vienna talks. <br /><br />First,
Americans do not have an accurate image of Iran. The idea that Iran is a
backward, hostile nation with terrorists running around everywhere and
women under total oppression is very widespread. I have never seen such a
huge gap in perception between fact and reality. This is partly due to
nearly 40 years of estrangement. Many Americans think that Iran is a
dangerous place, and that if they were to travel there they would be
arrested or terrorized. <br /><br />This makes it very easy for pro-Israeli
groups in the United States to demonize Iran in American public opinion.
Groups like the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) and
its offshoot, the Washington Isntitute for Near East Policy (WINEP) are
propaganda think tanks with a huge grip on American legislators and
American Public media. <br /><br />The New York Times is one of the worst
offenders in telling outright lies about Iran. The New York Times has an
inordinate influence on public opinion in the United States. The
reporters David E. Sanger, William J. Broad, Rick Gladstone and Michael
Gordon have been writing inaccurate, negative articles about Iran
regularly for at least 12 years. The editorial staff, who writes the
headlines for their articles also makes their articles look even more
negative than they are. <br /><br />Because the American public has such a
negative view of Iran, politicians have found out that attacking Iran is
good for their political ambitions. No politician ever lost a vote by
attacking Iran. Saying negative things about Iran draws applause and
general public acceptance. Moreover, if a politician says something even
mildly positive about Iran, like: We should talk to Iran, they are
immediately attacked as anti-Isarael or even anti-Semitic. <br /><br />However,
the aforementioned business forces in the United States favor the
accords as does the Obama administration, so there is a real difference
of opinion in the American system. <br /><br />Let me say that I personally
believe that John Kerry and Javad Zarif are very accomplished
negotiators. If it were up to them, they would have finalized these
accords in a minute. <br /><br />Also, I believe that the other members of
the P5+1 group will ratify the accords. So even if the United States
does not, trade will resume between Iran and Europe. Iran does not need
the United States to benefit from success in these accords, but Iranians
overwhelmingly want Iran and the U.S. to be friends again, even if
conservatives in both Iran and the United States oppose this. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
</div>
William O. Beemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06410196700886326533noreply@blogger.com8