The Ghosts of Peace;

A Relationship Forged in Crisis; The contemporary United States ; Iran rift was cast inside the muzzles of Islamic Revolution. The overthrow of the US-backed Shah and seizure of the American embassy in Tehran back on November 1979 opened a wound that remains unhealed. They held 52 Americans hostage for 444 days, which President Jimmy Carter called "the most trying period of my life."The "Great Satan" vs. The "Rogue State"; This original sin created a culture of animosity and mutual suspicion. The hostages were finally released on the day that Ronald Reagan was inaugurated president in 1981, but the political and psychological harm never healed. The Tehran "Great Satan" chorus mixed with the Washington (as before such media products as its 10-19-2006) and became the sound of silence to the diplomatic future knitting between two countries.The Iran-Iraq War Begins; Amidst such hostility, the first major ceasefire initiatives were launched in respect of the calamitous Iran-Iraq War that had erupted in September 1980. It was eight years of devastating war, a proxy conflict in which the US and Iran were backing opposite sides. By covertly and overtly backing Saddam Hussein's Iraq, Washington bolstered Iranian fears that the United States was scheming against their real aims in line with its own interests.Iraq's First Truce Offer; The initial serious peace initiative was launched soon after the war commenced. October 1, 1980: Iraq proposes a four-day ceasefire that is quickly rejected by Iran's SupremeLeader, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. On October 4, when his response was even clearer: the war would continue until "decisive victory" is won and Iraq's "crimes" avenged.A Pattern of Rejection; This firm tone became the basis of Iranian diplomacy from the beginning of the conflict and in a long time. It called instead for the removal of Saddam Hussein and disengagement of Iraqi troops from Iranian land to guarantee a ceasefire. These preconditions were insurmountable for international mediators in the early years of the war.The Islamic Peace Mission Fails; A flurry of international peace initiatives struggled to put a stop to the bloodshed, all running aground on one fundamental rock throughout 1981. IEP 239 On March 4, 1981 the Islamic Peace Mission made a proposal of a complete plan for troop withdrawal and establishment for joint Islamic armed force. Iran and Iraq's government also swiftly panned the idea, with a formal announcement against it coming when Iran's Supreme Defense Council issued its statement on March 7.The Non-Aligned Movement Attempt; At the same time, the Non-Aligned Movement sought to mediate a ceasefire between the two belligerent countries. The Iranian representatives at a conference in February 1981ISC abandoned the talks when their Iraqi counterpart proposed a truce. The location of the gesture was not on a neutral site, but in Tehran–particularly insult to injury and trickery further strocking Iranian vigour to be going with their war efforts. FREE PLESTINE The United Nations also became involved, with Special Envoy Olof Palme visiting Tehran and Baghdad several times during 1986 to offer "specific proposals for ceasefire". He had failed in his mission, which was to bring Iran into a cease-fire agreement, and left Tehran on February 22,1981, after being told by the Iranians no possible solution would exist as long as Iraqi troops remained on Iranian territory.A Chronicle of Failed Peace; Palme, it turned out for the fifth time now, couldn't get either side to agree to a ceasefire. Which meant both sides were convinced, after every failure, that the military outcome was achievable. Iran saw flexibility as treason against the revolution's goals and the international community was growing impatient.The Secret Backchannel Emerges ; Meanwhile, as official peace efforts crumbled, a much more secret and politically explosive backchannel was being opened by the US with Iran. The Iran-Contra affair, which was in fact a secret operation that captures the contradictory nature of US-Iranian relations in the 1980s: Elsewhere, open hostility combined with clandestine cooperation.Arms-for-Hostages Deal; Even though an official arms embargo has been imposed by the US government against Iran, it played a clandestine role in selling TOW anti-tank and HAWK surface-to-air missiles to the Islamic Republic. Iran was in need of spare parts for its American-built military equipment and Washington seized the opportunity to gain freedom for U.S. hostages held by Hezbollah members in Lebanon.Funding the Contras ; The secret deal served two ends: freeing American hostages, and illegally diverting the arms sales profits to aid the Contra rebels fighting the Nicaraguan government. This operation was a violation of both US policy and the Boland Amendment, which restricted military assistance. The defining characteristic of the deal was the secrecy. The Scandal Exposed; The Scandal Exposed; Well over 1,500 missiles had been sent to Iran before the release of the Iran-Contra affair in November 1986. Although these weapons were not large in number, they played a tactical important part for Iran as they helped to halt Iraqi offensive after Iraqi offensive. Important participants including National Security Council staff member Oliver North would be prosecuted in the scandal.A Devastating Blow to Reagan; The Iran-Contra scandal put a serious dent in the Reagan presidency. Although the political fallout for his administration wasn't as dire as it could have been, the affair sealed US's position globally from that of a power that wanted peace in the Middle East, to one which was tricky. Trust Americas influence abroad and at home in American foreign policy was deeply diminished.Iranian Strategic Pragmatism; So for Iran, the affair was a confirmation of its strategic realism: Iran would deal with the "Great Satan" if and when it suited its national interests. The Iranian leadership had shown that whatever the ideology, practical benefit could search interest.The Legacy of Distrust; What we can learn from the Iran-Contra affair is clean and lingers well beyond that particular time. It showed that even some of the fiercest rivals can secretly negotiate when their strategic interests are aligned. Yet the inherent secrecy and duplicity involved in such arrangements tends to leave one with more distrust than is resolved.A Cautionary Tale; This "backdoor war" legacy is a stark warning from history for our own time, a reminder of the vulnerability of democratic oversight over foreign policy. It is also a reminder of the power of continuing mutual suspicion, which has continually undermined more transparent peace efforts between the two nations. A Tragic Pattern Established The public failures of the UN and the Non-Aligned Movement that sought to arrange a ceasefire in the 1980s and ultimately ended up furthering US interests, along with secret deals like those of Iran-Contra form an unfortunate template for US-Iran relations. The hostage crisis generated an animosity that made public mutual trust impossible, while the war forced both countries to pursue their interests somewhere between open hostility and covert pragmatism. NEXT

The Ghosts of Peace;

admin

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Colombia FOOTBALL TEAM HISTORY

Panama vs. Croatia

England vs Ghana

panama vs croatia

Messi – What He Truly Is;

Colombia FOOTBALL TEAM HISTORY

US-Iran Conflict: The Tension Which Continue To Build Everyday

The Iran-Israel Nuclear Question: A Crisis Decades in the Face of Us;