Principles in Practice: The Blog of the Objective Standard

Wednesday, August 01, 2007

U.S. Negotiates with Iran, Iran Wins

Posted by ARI Media at 11:03 PM

Irvine, CA—Recent talks between Iran and the United States resulted in an agreement to hold further talks and create a "subcommittee" to deal with Iraqi security. For America and Iran, this outcome is seen as a qualified success, promising mutual advantages.

"But these talks are an unqualified success for Iran," said Elan Journo, a junior fellow at the Ayn Rand Institute.

" Iran is the flagrant aggressor—in its backing of Iraqi insurgents who murder American troops and in its decades-long terror war on America and the West. Iran helps fuel the hellish chaos in Iraq—it is the self-righteous arsonist that U.S. diplomats absurdly hope to recruit as a fire-fighter. These talks grant Iran an undeserved moral legitimacy as a civilized, peace-seeking regime. Iran's hostile goals—'death to America'—and its murder of our citizens are made to seem reasonable differences of opinion. Iran is elevated to an equal moral footing with its victims.

"Since Teheran knows its hostility will be met with words and bribes, rather than punished with bombs, it has nothing to fear from continuing its aggression. Indeed, as the U.S. ambassador to Iran stated: 'over the roughly two months since our last meetings, we have actually seen militia-related activity that can be attributed to Iranian support go up, and not down.'

"That Iran feels it has a free hand to unleash its wrath on U.S. troops in Iraq—and broadly, to continue its other aggressive goals, such as acquiring nuclear weapons—is the inevitable result of such appeasing negotiations. For the United States merely to recognize Iran as worthy of negotiations—let alone offer it bribes—is a moral capitulation."

Labels: Foreign Policy and War, Philosophy