Tuesday January 24, 2006

Column:

The Double Standard Myth is circulating, once again, in the Middle East.

According to the Myth, Western countries show preferential treatment to Israel over Arab countries of the Middle East. According to the Myth, it is unfair for Western democracies to put pressure on Arab countries and not exert the same pressure on Israel. According to the current incarnation of the Double Standard Myth, Israel should be held to the same standard as Iran on the issue of nuclear capability.

There is a double standard, that is no myth. But it is simply a matter of geography. No comparisons would be made between Israel and the Arab countries of the Middle East except for the fact that Israel, to the chagrin of her neighbors, is located in the Middle East. Location, location, location, nothing more.

Vice President Cheney recently returned from a very successful trip to the Middle East. While there, he met with leaders of moderate Arab countries principally, Egypt and Saudi Arabia. Topics for discussion between the vice president and the Arab leaders included the Iranian nuclear threat, the upcoming and imminent Palestinian and Israeli elections and finally, the general world wide terror threat.

In the course of the discussion the Egyptians could not help but agree that there would be serious problems with alarming repercussions if Iran came on line with nuclear power and armaments. And then they let loose with the Myth. Then they said, outright and to Cheney's face, that it was unfair to constantly harangue Iran when nothing is being said about Israeli nukes. Israel is a threat to region, they said. They said everyone knows that Israel has nuclear weapons.

And then the Egyptians let loose again two later days. This time they were speaking to German Foreign Minister Frank Walter Steinmeirer. Only the German foreign minister wasn't about to let the Egyptians set the agenda on the issue of nuclear capability. In his response to a press question about the Double Standard Steinmeirer said: "This excuse which you call 'double standard' does not justify allowing us to see a nuclear power which will worsen the situation." In other words, even if I accept the thesis, even if I buy into the myth ... Iran should still not have nuclear capabilities.

The Double Standard is a seriously problematic argument.

Not that Iran cares about world opinion, but she has used the argument as a way to rationalize her behavior. The Double Standard is also used with frequency throughout the entire Arab and Muslim world. The argument suggests that Iran, or any other country for that matter, requires nuclear weapons as protection from Israel because everyone knows that Israel has nuclear weapons and everyone knows that Israel wants to invade and destroy the Arabs and nuclear weapons is the way to achieve that goal. Everyone knows that, right?

So Iran needs nuclear weapons to use as a nuclear deterrent.

The problem with the entire discussion, with the whole equation, with the basic premise of the myth is that it requires a comparison between Israel and Iran. And there is no comparison between Israel and Iran. There is no parallel. There is no possible way to draw any conclusion from any comparison.

Israel has no territorial claims period, actually, Israel is ceding territory.

Iran is a dictatorship, controlled by a handful of religious fanatics who easily, quite eagerly, threaten the region.

Israel is a stable democracy run by an elected and responsible leadership accountable to the people. The government is answerable to its parliament and its supreme court and the people can and will oust a party that does not fulfill its obligations.

Iranian leadership is not accountable to anyone and is immune to international pressure and internal popular opinions. Their sole responsibility is self-perpetuation. They must stay in power or they, as leaders, cease to exist and once they are out of power the people will not follow. So they need to create threats where there are none, they need to stoke the flames and create situations so that they can be seen as the defenders of their nation.

The threat that Israel and the West present to the Arab and Muslim world is truly a minimal threat. And it is a very precise threat. Israel will strike Iran only if her very existence is at stake, not threatened, at stake. And it will be a surgical strike, a strike intended to have a colossal effect but to cause minimal damage. Those who believe that Iran needs nuclear weapons in order to challenge Israel do not understand the real value of arms. It is precisely because Iran has convinced herself, and others, that Israel is a threat that Iran cannot be allowed the opportunity to develop a nuclear arsenal.

Almost everyone - inside and outside the region with the exception of Syria - wants a regime change in Iran. And yet, no one is threatening the existence of Iran. No one. Talk about double standard.