Ruminations

Political finesse holds the keys to Iran extricating itself from any potential armed confrontation with the United States of America, a confrontation undeniably being instigated and fanned by Israel and its supporters stateside, and regretably being fed by the rhetoric and provocations of ignoramus' in Iran unaware of the overwhelming military might at the disposal of the United States of America. The fact is that in any armed confrontation between Iran and the United States of America, within a matter of a few days Iran will be the sure loser with mass casualties, and further losses in infrastructure, industry and equipment that would set back the country over 80 years and many trillions of dollars in sunk costs and investments, impoverishing an already struggling country and handicapping a nation for generations to come (much to Israel's glee and joy.) For Iran's salvation, Mr. Ahmadinejad and his administration need to distance themselves from aggressive rhetoric and unconsidered words and deeds, and substitute for it the political finesse and statesmanship that has assured the country's survival over much of the past century in dealing with imperial powers casting wayward glances at this ancient land (an approach, by the way, that is absolutely in keeping with the Islamic injunction of using the Creator's gift of wisdom or "aghl" for the purposes of self-preservation.) More specifically, Mr. Ahmadinejad should look for an avenue (possibly through the good offices of Saudi Arabia), to re-establish formal diplomatic relations with the United States by re-opening embassies and exchanging ambassadors between Washington DC and Tehran, and this formal re-engagement of diplomatic relations should be followed through with cordial and not acrimonious measures to resolve issues of mutual concern, starting with those issues that are surmountable and progressing from there. Iran's survival, historically, has been tied to having cordial relations with all big powers, balancing those relations against one another to arrive at a medium that has served the best interests of the Iranian nation. Mr. Ahmadinejad should stick to this historic precedent in Iran's diplomatic engagements, and not look for alternate solutions that might have unforeseen and dangerous consequences for his 70 million countrymen and countrywomen.