Pro-American? To what degree?

Submitted by Pat (United States), Jul 15, 2007 at 18:53

Can we really believe that the Iranian people are all that pro-American?

We shouldn't mistake their unhappiness with their own theocratic regime for support for liberal democracy. Do you think they are ready to embrace America? I haven't seen any sign of it. It's more like they're taking advantage of our own antipathy toward the mullahs and our concern with the danger of terrorism to achieve their own ends. Would they cut ties with Hamas and Hezbollah? I just don't see it happening. Am I wrong?

Iranians want things from America but what do they offer in return? A renewed Iranian-American relationship needs a stronger foundation than a shared dislike for the mullahs. Too much water has gone under the bridge. Absent a revolution, what is the chance that any new Iranian government will suddenly become pro-secular and drop Islam from its governing platform and "the great satan" from its rhetoric?

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