by Christina Lovato, University of New Mexico-Talk Radio News Service

Today on Capitol Hill experts gathered to talk about the future relationship between Iran and the United States and expressed their recommendations to the Obama administration.

This morning, the Middle East Policy Council, an organization that provides political analysis of issues involving the greater Middle East, held a discussion on the prospects of engagement between Iran and the United States.

Kenneth Katzman, a Middle East specialist at the Congressional Research Service and author of “Warriors of Islam: Iran’s Revolutionary Guard” said that Iran envisions a Middle East free of what Iran believes is domination by the United States and Israel.

“Iran’s goal, it’s honored policy goal, the assessment of many, is to fundamentally restructure the Middle East by reducing U.S. influence in the region and weakening Israel to the furthest extent possible,” said Katzman.

Thomas Pickering, the former Undersecretary of State and former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations and the Russian Federation said that the future of our relationship with Iran will not depend on a totally accurate reading of Iranian internal politics because that remains something of a crapshoot.

“Watch as much as what is done, as what is said,” said Pickering.

Pickering said that the objective for the U.S. and Iran ought to be to seek a normal relationship over a period of time.

“A relationship that involves not just embassies and ambassadors but an ability for people on all sides to meet, talk with, know and work with each other…. We have a lot at stake and Iran has a lot at stake,” said Pickering.

Trita Parsi, the President of the National Iranian American Council and author of “Treacherous Alliance: The Secret Dealings of Israel, Iran and the United States” said that in order for the U.S. to improve relations with Iran there needs to be a change in atmosphere and said that the speeches and comments made by President Obama are creating just that and injecting trust.

But Parsi said that giving a deadline of diplomacy to Iran will only militarize the atmosphere, and that will not be successful.

“The more the atmosphere gets militarized, the more difficult it will be for the Obama administration to be able to pursue its path of diplomacy,” said Parsi.

Jonathan Bronstein explores Israel’s recent test of their missile defense system, and what this means for the nation’s military capabilities. Two experts commented on this issue. Firstly, Richard Weitz, an analyst from the Hudson Institute, comments specifically on Iran’s nuclear and missile capabilities and the possibility for Israel to implement first strike capabilities. Secondly, Benjamin Friedman, a scholar at the Cato Institute, comments on Iran being the greatest threat to Israel, but remains cautious on the military options which Israel should take. (1:59)

 

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Random beatings of Palestinian-Israeli’s not being investigated by police and recent mass lay-offs of train workers for employees who never served in the military, have resulted in a a Palestinian-Israeli member of Israel’s parliament calling the country racist.

“Our main demand is equality, full equality in the framework of full citizenship of the Palestinian people,” said Jamal Zahalka, a member of the Israeli Knesset.

The Palestinian minority – 20 percent of Israel’s population – is often one that goes undocumented because the West is more concerned in the political outcome than the human cost, said Aida Touma-Sleiman, director of Women Against Violence, an organization that advocates Palestinian women’s rights.

“This kind of racism is slipping and going from the institutional level into the public level into the ordinary people,” said Touma-Sleiman, adding that the last 10 years have brought to power strong right-wing politicians in the government who have strong inclinations against unity between Palestinians and Israel.

“If Israel wants to establish a true democracy their is no way to escape the fact of dealing with the Palestinian minority within Israel,” said Touma-Sleiman.

Aida Touma-Sleiman, Director of Women Against Violence in Nazareth, discusses how she believes that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right wing rhetoric make intolerance towards Palestinians acceptable in Israel. She cites the role that Avigdor Lieberman was given in the Israeli government. (0:36)

 

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By Kayleigh Harvey – Talk Radio News Service

The Obama administration is no different than its predecessor when it comes to providing intelligence and military aid to Israel, an action that continues to hamper positive U.S. relations with other Middle East countries. That is the opinion of representatives of the Council For the National Interest, which conducted a public hearing to discuss the implications of current U.S. military aid to countries in the Middle East.

“The Obama administration has shipped replacement munitions that were used up in Gaza, very high-tech missiles and that sort of thing, to Israel in an emergency effort just about 10-days ago,” said Eugene Bird, President for the Council of National Interest. “I think this reflects that the Obama administration – with regard to the re-supply of Israel – is no different than the Bush administration.”

Some speakers suggested the United States should re-evaluate its unconditional support of Israel, especially within the current political identity.

“We do not sell arms to Israel, we give arms to Israel,” said Edward Peck, former U.S. Ambassador to Iraq and deputy director of President Reagan’s terrorism task force. Additionally, the Israeli government decides how it wants to utilize the resources and funds given by the U.S. “There is no purchase involved, which is a nice thing. It’s a blank check, and, as you know, that blank check is delivered on the first day of the fiscal year, October 1st, and the Israeli’s can then earn interest on this money while they decide how to spend it… (This) is not necessarily in our interests,” Peck said.

Bird estimates that over the next 10-years the U.S. will give Israel $30 billion to Israel and “that there will be 150,000 more Jewish colonists on the West Bank during that period… The American taxpayer, over the years and in the future, will be paying about $200,000 for each colonist that is placed on Arab land and which destroys the chances for a two-state solution.”

Israeli peace activist, journalist and writer, Uri Avnery said, “I think American arms to Israel should be conditioned…so that the peace agreement will be signed between Israel and the Palestinian people, hopefully a Palestinian unity government including both Fatah and Hamas – I would (expect such results) by the end of 2009 or the middle of 2010 not later.”

Some say that the Middle East is an issue of which Americans remain uninformed and that American politicians view the subject as a killer of constituent support.

Peck blamed said that the lack of information available was a result of the pro-Israel lobby. “They don’t allow anyone else to talk….We’ve been silenced. We are not allowed to criticize Israel. You’re instantly an anti-Semite if you do, He said. “In Israel you are allowed to criticize Israel government policy…but you cannot do it here without provoking a fire-stone.”

Aida Touma-Sleiman, director of Women Against Violence in Nazareth, discusses how systemic Palestinian disenfranchisement from Israeli politics stems directly from events in 1948. Also, she states how for Israel to truly become a democracy in practice, not only in name, it must grant citizenship to the Palestinians. (0:49)

 

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By Kayleigh Harvey – Talk Radio News Service

Eugene Bird, President of the Council for the National Interest made this distinction at a public hearing today held by the Council for the National Interest on the implications of the current U.S. Military Aid to the Middle East. He said, “The Obama administration with regard to the re-supply of Israel, regardless of what she does, regardless of how she uses the weapons, is no different than the Bush administration.”

 

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By Kayleigh Harvey – Talk Radio News Service

At a public hearing on current U.S. Military Aid to the Middle East, retired Ambassador Edward Peck said that the fighting in Gaza is not a war. He said, “That wasn’t a war. There are not two armies fighting there. There was a huge powerful army, armed, financed and equipped by us, kicking the crappe, that’s a French word, c-r-a-p-p-e, kicking the crappe out of a helpless, defenseless people, who had nothing to fight back with.”

 

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By Kayleigh Harvey – Talk Radio News Service

At a public hearing on U.S. Military Aid in the Middle East, retired Ambassodor Edward Peck said “We do not sell arms to Israel, we give arms to Israel. There is no purchase involved. Which is a nice thing, it’s a blank check and as you know that blank check is delivered on the first day of the fiscal year, October 1st, and the Israeli’s can then earn interest on this money while they decide how to spend it…the Israeli’s decide how to spend that money anyway they want with no controls of any kind whatsoever, which is not necessarily in our interests.”

 

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By Kayleigh Harvey – Talk Radio News Service

At a public hearing on U.S. Military Aid to the Middle East today, retired Ambassador Edward Peck said, “The American public knows nothing about the Middle East and because they know nothing they are not very interested, and because they’re not very interested they don’t know much, because nobody is going to tell them.”

 

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