On A "Disturbing" FB Status and My Feedback on It ::

Status Facebook Muhammad Amin:

"Memberi hormat kepada prestasi Obama. Dalam waktu bbrp bulan, menggolkan UU Reformasi Kesehatan, menandatangani perjanjian proliferasi nuklir dng Russia, dan semoga dalam waktu dekat bs menggolkan UU Reformasi Keuangan. Dan tahun depan, menggencet Israel untuk segera mengakhiri penjajahan atas Palestina."

My Feedback:

"Menggencet Israel untuk membebaskan Palestina? Hmm, fase mana dari Peta Politik (Game) Internasional nih? Semua pressures yang terjadi di Pakistan, Iran, Iraq, Libanon, Yemen, dll. Dan semua "kemesraan" memuakkan yang terjadi antara US dan some leading Arab states, as like Saudi dan Mesir, sama sekali bukanlah premis yang masuk akal untuk apa yang antum sebut sebagai harapan agar US/Obama's administration menggencet Israel, yang jelas2 terus menjadi teman mesra US in many term of interests alias KEPENTINGAN.

Aku sedang mempelajari semua seluk-beluk Amerika Serikat di salah satu prestigious Model di Cairo Uni, aku juga baru riset tentang US Foreign Policy Toward Iran. Dan satu emosi terdalam yang begitu melekat dalam hatiku setelah mempelajari semuanya adalah, semakin aku mempelajari US, semakin aku merasa jengah (not to mention muak) tentang ideologi US dalam segala hal.

Well, aku tidak menapikkan upaya Obama untuk memulai babak baru dengn negara2 Muslim dalam pidatonya di Cairo Uni tahun lalu, and I personally admire Obama dalam banyak personalitasnya, tapi mengingat kapasitasnya as the first person who stands 4 US's policies and interests, aku masih ragu dan menganggap ini tidak masuk akal akan terjadi. Seorang temanku di Wesleyan pernah juga meragukan ttg Obama's UnBUSHed Policies, but we will see lah, panggung masih berlangsung....

Menurutku dalam mencita2kan pembenahan terbaik bagi negara2/komunitas2 Muslim yang stabilitasnya masih tak bermasa-depan seperti Palestina adalah PR terbesar bagi negara2 Muslim itu sendiri. Hanya saja pada realitanya negara2 Muslim sendiri masih memiliki banyak konflik internal yang belum terselesaikan, dari yg paling fundamen bahkan tentang masalah bagaimana mendialogkan kesamaan posisi, potensi dan peranan dari negara2 Muslim Arab dan negara2 Muslim non-Arab spt Indonesia. Sungguh, di Cairo Uni dan di beberapa forum politik/hukum di Mesir sini, aku berjuang keras agar tidak dipandang sebelah mata secara intelektualitas oleh orang2 Arab yang kita tahulah bagaimana fanatik dan superiornya.

Overall mohon maaf jika emosional komennya. Semoga kita bisa berdialog di sini."

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A Tough, yet Deadlock Scene of U.S. Iran Foreign Policy on Bush Administration ::

"If Iran suspends its uranium enrichment which is an international demand not just an American one, then United States is prepared to reverse its policy and I will meet with my Iranian counterpart anytime anywhere." [American Top Diplomat, Condoleezza Rice]

“The Persians need to assure that their intentions are serious to the world about not having nuclear weapon, and it’s proved that until the time being, the Iranians just haven’t been able to do that.” [American Top Diplomat, Condoleezza Rice]

That was the pre requests that US has put, in order to have direct negotiations with the Persian Regime, a thing that was totally refused by the Persian regime.

On the other stage, through its April 2006 National Security Strategy, the Bush administration noted that the United States faces “no greater challenge from a single country than from Iran.” That challenge is two-fold; the first stems from Iran’s nuclear ambitions, the second from the driver of those efforts: the nature of the regime itself.

These statement and note however, able to describe how tough, and yet deadlock scene of US Foreign Policy toward Iran during the Bush Administration. As well as describe the “premise” of aggressive effort of Bush Administration in proving that US and many of its allies’ deep suspicions about the potential military aspects of the program are all provable.

Mahtab Farid, an award winning international reporter, a founder of US Iran NEWS, and an expert in US Iran relations, concluded couple of terms in her report that sticks out in her mind as well as convinces the above statement assessing how tough, yet deadlock the past eight years of Bush's presidency on Iran, those couple terms are: "state sponsor of terrorism," "weapons of mass destruction," International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), and separating Iranian people from the Iranian government. She concluded these couple of terms from the countless press conferences, seminars, panels, congressional hearings that included introducing, passing, or blocking of numerous congressional bills about Iran she concerned, as well as her ardent concern on the United Nations Security Council Resolutions against Iran and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's multiple visits to the United Nations.

And labeling the Bush Foreign Policy as a tough, yet deadlock would be more relevance if we link it to what Ivo H. Daalder and James M. Lindsay mentioned in their book “America Unbound—The Bush Revolution on Foreign Policy” published by The Brookings Institution Press, that Bush with whole of his belief about America’s role in the world, are unlike Al Gore, Bush had not cast hundreds of congressional votes or written books and articles outlining his vision for the United States abroad. Bush is a doer, not a thinker; his natural element was action, not analysis.

Therefore it can be observed that what Bush and his secretary of state strived during his administration was forcing their interests while investing more and more decades of mistrust toward Iran and hence toward the region. In January 2002 for instance, Bush called Iran as a part of an “axis of evil" during his first State of the Union address. Mahtab mentioned that "the axis of evil" term became the headline of every newspaper, press conference and policy panels in DC. She added that it was inevitable to escape the "axis of evil" speech. Some thought it sent a strong message to Iran. Some thought "the axis of evil" speech killed every opportunity for normalizing the US Iran relations. Think tanks capitalized on the speech and held numerous panels to discuss what the term "axis of evil" meant and how is that going to affect the US policy towards Iran. While in May 2006, Mahtab also mentioned that Condoleezza Rice introduced the "incentive package." But the Iranian officials did not accept the "incentive package" and said, they will not stop the enrichment of uranium. They also repeatedly said the nuclear activities are for peaceful purpose.

Thus, we can clearly assess how Iran continues to be cold-shouldered by the Bush Administration, since Iran never accept any pre condition which was to stop enriching uranium, and hence as the result, the two countries were never able to hold a direct talk in any terms of bilateral.


N/b: This note is basically part of a Group Research Result titled "U.S. Foreign Policy toward Iran", conducted by our lovely group IV of CFR - MAC 2010. And this piece I posted is originally a record on all related phenomenons, statements, and thoughts I adapted from some sources, with a smart final touch from Nouran Elsakka :)

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