Will the U.S. attack Iran?
Peorians who dare to think realistically about U.S. foreign policy and issues of war and peace gathered on Tuesday, April 3 to hear Andrew Hartman, assistant professor of history at Illinois State University, speak at Bradley University on "Target Iran! Historical Lessons Drawn from the U.S. Addiction to War and Intervention."
Hartman recalled the history of Iran, and how the U.S. overthrew the elected government there to install the Shah, a "U.S. puppet," so the U. S. could control Iran's oil.
"The nation that controls oil, the nation whose currency is used to trade oil, has the greatest potential to control the world. Oil is power," he said.
In addition, policy makers throughout history have tried to remake the world in their image, he said. Today "what is good for Halliburton is good for the world. It's beneficial for the world to be remade in our image," the ideologues believe.
" 'Democracy' is the code word, but what they want is unfettered access to markets." Hartman said.
The U.S. has a bad case of "American exceptionalism," he said, which means "the rules that govern others don't govern us." That kind of thinking got us into Iraq.
But war always has unintended consequences. Overthrowing the Shah led to the Iranian revolution of 1979, whose leaders still govern.
Iran learned that nations without nuclear weapons get invaded and occupied. The Iraq war's unintended consequences have become Iran's push for nuclear power and empowerment as its enemy Saddam was removed, Hartman said.
"Why is the Bush administration targeting Iran?" he asked. He suggested it's to deflect attention away from other issues.
Given the realities of the U.S. armed forces today, the U.S. is unlikely to invade Iran, he said. but "precision bombing is possible." Economic sanctions are more likely, however.
Hartman issued three warnings to the audience of more than two dozen people.
1. "Don't believe what comes out of the Bush administration's mouth." All governments lie, he said, especially this one. Lying creates fear which is the opposite of rational political thought.
2. Don't expect change from a Democratic administration. The U.S. has had a two party consensus on foreign policy since World War II.
3. Don't trust the media to give you answers. The media has been demonizing Iran's leadership -- though that's not hard to do. The New York Times lied about Iraq, then apologized, but it's presenting the administration's line on Iran uncritically today.
War with Iran could occur if another 9-11 takes place. Only then could the U.S. raise the troops it needs for another war, Hartman said.
Asked how people can find out the truth about current events, he recommended several websites: Democracy Now, Z Net,
The Nation, The Independent and the Guardian, both based in London, and LeMonde Diplomatic's English edition. "Look at everything critically," he said.
Professor Hartman is a history education specialist with a Ph.D. from George Washington University. He is currently finishing a manuscript for a book, Education and the Cold War, which is to be published by Palgrave Macmillan in April 2008.
His essays have appeared in professional and popular journals, including Third World Quarterly, Race and Class, Socialism and Democracy, Poverty and Race, Zmagazine, Clamor, and The Humanist.
The event was co-sponsored by the Peoria Area Peace Network and the Bradley University Department of Sociology and Social Work.
----Elaine Hopkins
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