Monday July 22, 2013

I've Been Thinking:

Iran has rejected the idea of Israel and the Palestinians re-embarking on peace talks.

Iranian media has been filled with comments by the foreign ministry denouncing the talks. Abbas Araqchi, spokesman for the foreign ministry, has been especially vocal on the subject.

He said: "Past experience shows that the occupying Zionist regime is basically not ready to pay the price for peace since war mongering and occupation lie at its very core."

He called for: "self-determination for the Palestinians, the return of all refugees to their ancestral land, and the creation of an integrated Palestine with al-Quds (Jerusalem) as its capital."

In our world, who is against talks? How bad can talks be? Peace can only help both sides. At least, that is the conventional wisdom.

But what if accepting Israel and signing a peace deal is anathema to a tradition and a story line and thesis? What happens when the new narrative that is played out, one in which Palestinians and Israelis agree and there is progress towards peace, would be destructive to the old guard?

That would be dangerous. And that frightens Iran.

Read my new book THUGS. It's easy. Just click.
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=halpern%2C+micah

To reprint my essays contact sales (at) www.featurewell.com