[lbo-talk] FT Interview: Mohammad Khatami

[Yoshie Furuhashi]

On 9/6/06, Doug Henwood <dhenwood at panix.com> wrote:
>
> On Sep 6, 2006, at 10:43 AM, Yoshie Furuhashi wrote:
>
> > Those of you who wish that a majority of Iranians had not elected
> > Ahmadinejad ought to ask yourself: did you do anything to compel
> > Washington to end its sanctions against Iran and come to terms with
> > Tehran during the eight years (3 August 1997 – 2 August 2005) when the
> > smiling Seyyed was the public face of Iran?
>
> Yeah, damn, if only I'd gone to that demo instead of that wine-
> tasting, how different the course of history would have been!

I can't recall a single demonstration organized by US leftists to help
Khatami and his fellow reformists normalize the US-Iran relation.  Why
the total inaction?

<blockquote><http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2006-09-04-khatami-us-iran_x.htm>
U.S., Iran share interests in Iraq, Khatami says
Posted 9/4/2006 11:08 PM ET
By Barbara Slavin, USA TODAY

NEW YORK — Former Iranian president Mohammad Khatami said Monday that
U.S. forces should remain in Iraq until that country's fragile
government can assume greater control.

In an interview here during his first trip to the United States since
leaving office a year ago, Khatami said, "We can't leave this newly
formed government at the mercy of terrorists and
insurgents."</blockquote>

That's Iranian reformists for you: diplomatic normalization, trade,
and investment in exchange for pro-Washington foreign policy from Iraq
to Lebanon to Palestine.    I am not in favor of that myself, but what
not to like about Khatami and Co. from the POV of US leftists who hate
Ahmadinejad and his fellow populist anti-imperialists in Iran?
-- 
Yoshie
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