Axis of Angels

November 23, 2003 | Ardavan Bahrami

[KellyAdmirer]

Now I've seen everything, someone who actually thinks the US is good and Britain bad, while Iran is an "angel." Everybody has their own peculiar take on things in the Middle East based on their own parochial concerns or what they think is important in the world - oil, terrorism, ancient rights to certain lands, whatever - and that's what makes the situation so deadly and so far not solvable. Nothing is obvious to everyone, everybody carries a grudge against someone, and the killing goes on.

[Beachcomber]

Iran, Israel, India as "Axis of Angels" Post War on Terrorism.

That would be refreshing!

[F14 Pilot]

Thanks for the Ping ~!

[MEG33]

Would you reread this article?

[Restorer]

Sorry, dear. You obviously didn't read the article very clearly. The author is advocating the overthrow of the Islamic regime in Iran and its replacement by a democratic, Western-oriented republic or constitutional monarchy that would ally itself with the US, Israel, and India to promote democracy in the Middle East.

Sounds good to me!

[MEG33]

Excellent article.

[freedom44]

Thanks for the ping

[freedom44]

ryan--

[Pan_Yans Wife]

BUMP!

[McGavin999]

Axis of Angels, I love that!

[Sir Charles]

***The French support for Iraq and their disagreement with the Iraqi Liberation campaign combined with long-standing German financial support for the mullahs in Tehran and the British appetite for cheap oil in the past quarter of a century makes them, the “Real Axis of Evil”.***

Who is "them"? France, Germany and Britain?

[FormerlyAnotherLurker]

Do you have the source for this?

[KellyAdmirer]

The French support for Iraq and their disagreement with the Iraqi Liberation campaign combined with long-standing German financial support for the mullahs in Tehran and the British appetite for cheap oil in the past quarter of a century makes them, the “Real Axis of Evil”.

Which part did I miss? I sure didn't miss the part about Britain being part of the "Real Axis of Evil." Yes, he likes the US, as I said in my original post, and also Israel and India. And yes, he is in opposition to the current Iranian regime.

My initial points were correct and valid. Everyone has someone different to pick on in the Middle East, for this guy to put Britain in an "Axis of Evil" is ridiculous.

[MEG33]

I must retract the excellent because of your refusal to see Great Britain as a force for good at this time.No country has a perfect record,here.I don't claim one for our country or our allies.Let's judge by now...and Iran would be a welcome addition if it can break free of theocratic tyranny.

[Ms. AntiFeminazi]

Interesting point of view. Thanks for posting it.

[happygrl]

Tony Blair, not Britain, is the hero here, who has begun to steer the UK away from its long history of propping up Middle Eastern tyrants for, yes, cheap oil.

I would say that Mr. Bahrami knows quite a bit more of the history of that region than either of the two of you.

It was the British who delivered unto us Saudi Arabia, and its pact with the Wahhabis, in exchange for cheap oil; and its role in the dramas of the Middle East since WWI. In the decade of the 90s, Britain was among those cutting deals with the Ayatollahs, in the face of U.S. calls and pleadings for sanctions.

Two excellent books which detail the role Britain played in the Middle East: The Secret War Against the Jews by John Loftus which gives a history of the establishment and guaranteeing of the Saudi Family in exchange for oil development rights (including the transfer of this commitment to the U.S. via the Dulles brothers in the 1950s and all the associated anti-Semeticism that was at the root of it); and The Peace to End All Peace : The Fall of the Ottoman Empire and the Creation of the Modern Middle East by David Fromkin which describes the disposal of the territories of the Ottoman Empire at the end of WWI and the secret machinations among the European allies which resulted in the muddled mess in that region now.

[happygrl]

Thank you for an amazing essay.

This provides a vision of hope for that area of the world.

Yes, Axis of Angels: the leadership of democracies in guaranteeing security is what is needed.

And how excellent that it is derived from a common value of democracy and liberty, rather than ethnicity !

Yes, democratic Iranians, Indians, Israelis and Americans committing to making and keeping the peace is a great formula for the 21st Century!

[MEG33]

I know who fought with us and died with us.I did not make excuses for the past.I was talking about what is going on today.I am sure you know more than I about the history since WW1.I know about the arabists in the State Dept,in Great Britain,in France.I know we've all danced with the devil.I know we were allies of Stalin at one time.Things change.