I’m a sucker for the wisdom of old diplomats – an establishment orientation I can never entirely shake. So from one of the Washington centers of the neocon power yesterday morning—the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies conference on tightening the screws on Iran– it was a pleasure to hear a discordant voice. It came from the former Israeli ambassador to Iran during the Shah’s reign, Uri Lubrani. He is old now, white hair, nearly translucent skin. In Israel, he is known as a sort of Mr. Iran. Later ambassador to Ethiopia, he helped to engineer the exodus airlift of Ethiopian Jews.
He told the audience that three months before the demonstrations broke out in 1978 in Iran he predicted there was going to be a mind-boggling revolution and none of his fellow diplomats believed him. Nor did his country’s top officials. He is no fan of the current regime, and called Ahmadinejad a “son of a bitch”. But he said unequivocally that the use of force would be self-defeating, and destroy the West’s greatest asset in the Muslim world–the affections of the Iranian people. Cue Lubrani:
<<We have one great ally in Iran. The Iranian people. I don’t believe in military. I’m against it. Of course Israelis have to have it on the table, always. But it would be counterproductive.>>
He went on to say the West could do much more to “give heart” to Iranian dissidents. Lubrani was applauded; he has stature, even in this group. Today the conference will bring in some warmongers and their toadies in Congress. You won’t hear Brad Sherman or Mark Kirk allude to the counterproductiveness of military force–as they seek to legislate the United States on a glide path to war. But Lubrani tried to set at least a small barrier in their way.
Another thing about the conference–this I learned from Senator Kirk this morning– is that the big guns from the entire world capitalist economy are investing and trading with Iran. Kirk read a list of companies in violation of the Iran Sanctions Act of 1996. It was global and impressive. It includes Total of France, ENI of Italy, Norsk Hydro of Norway, Gazprom of Russia, Lukoil of Russia, China National Petroleum Company, Impex of Jampan, Petrobas of Brazil. . . and went on like this for about a page. The idea that this (or any) administration is going to “sanction” all these companies is amusing.
