Bush Joins Ahmadinejad and Hugo Chavez
by Scott Sullivan
The Conservative Voice, NC
April 28 2007
April 28, 2007 01:11 PM EST
The US is picking a new partner — Iran, along with Iran’s ally Hugo
Chavez. President Bush is now saying the time is right for bilateral
talks with Iran. The US is ignoring Iran~Rs defiance on nukes, as well
as Iran’s subversion in Iraq. Vice President Cheney is no longer saying
nasty things about the Nazi regime in Tehran. US military commanders
in Iraq have abruptly changed their tone from optimism to pessimism,
with the implication that the US needs Iran~Rs help in Iraq.
Meanwhile, the US treats Turkey and Russia — Iran’s two greatest
adversaries — with hostility. Turkey is threatened by US congressional
passage of the Armenian genocide resolution. The US supports the
Kirkuk status referendum, which infuriates Turkey because it provides
a huge political and financial boost to ~SKurdistan.~T Finally, the
US accepts a growing Iranian security presence in Iraq, a policy that
poses a direct threat to Turkey.
At the same time, the US has restarted the Cold War with Russia,
beginning with the US enlistment of Poland and the Czech Republic in
US missile defense programs.
By deliberately confronting Turkey and Russia, Bush is strengthening
and emboldening Ahmadinejad. Iran will step up its bid for Middle East
dominance. Chavez will step up his bid for Latin American dominance.
Unfortunately, the US is miscalculating badly in viewing Iran and
Chavez as its primary security partners, beginning in Iraq.
First of all, for Iran and the US to win, Turkey, Russia and Saudi
Arabia have to agree to lose. This will not happen. Indeed, Turkey,
Russia and Saudi Arabia will push back against Iran and the US.
Second, an anti-Iran/US coalition led by Turkey and Russia, backed
by the Arab states, would easily prevail in the Middle East. In fact,
they will win because their policy of preserving Iraq~Rs territorial
integrity commands overwhelming support in Iraq and throughout the
Middle East. Such a coalition would even pick up the support of Syria
and Hezbollah.
Third, Iran has no workable plan for taking power in Iraq alongside
the US. Iran lacks the resources, the expertise, and the requisite
support from neighboring states to take over in Iraq. As for the
Kurdish-Iranian partition plan, now accepted by the US, this would
bring disaster to Iraq, as Turkey and Russia are saying.
Fourth, if Iran cannot subdue Iraq, which is likely, Iran is blocked
in the Middle East. Iran can still make trouble in a few hot spots
like Lebanon, but Iran will never be the Middle East superpower,
Fifth, Iran has no allies in the region or beyond.
Sixth, Iran will never be popular in the US. The thought of a
Bush-Ahmadinejad-Chavez Axis is laughable.
In short, President Bush is making the wrong choice in accepting Iran
as a number one partner. This is tantamount to the US picking Germany
in 1914 and 1941. In other words, Bush is kidding, right?