Classical perspective on Iran

A recent plethora of blogging activity (plus, I suppose, the capture of Saddam Hussein) is pushing Iran into the spotlight of the blogosphere.

Iran is Persia, of course, and more than perhaps any country, Persia looks both East and West. This has been the case since antiquity. I have discussed Persian history before in this blog, and I wish I had the time to really study it in detail, because unlike Western history (punctuated as it is by a major cultural gap between the ancient period and the Renaissance), Persia has remained Persia — a proud and rich culture — for thousands of years.

While it isn't especially the purpose of this post to discuss Iranian-Indian relations, studying the inextricably interrelated history these two countries share was an eye-opener in itself. Religions, philosophies, art, literature, architecture, language — all of that which we call "culture" has been in a constant state of mutual influence over the millenia.

For a very rich summary of the history of the Iranian-Indian relationship, I highly recommend reading parts ONE and TWO of this gem. It's a shame Americans aren't taught more about this subject, as it is very rich.

Clearly, Iran occupies a very special place in the history of human culture. It is a shame that the country is still dominated by medieval mullahs whose system of tyranny has so little popular support that it must rely on terrorism to maintain its tentative grip on power.

Most of the Iranian regime's support for terrorism is so well documented that to discuss it in detail would bore my readers. Besides, this is not a foreign policy blog, but offers radical American centrism from an ancient perspective.

And right now, the ancients seem to be demanding that I do my damned job, and I dare not refuse. For I have a terrible feeling that if I could summon a Roman general — let's say, Agrippa — from the grave today and present what we know (or strongly suspect) about Iran to him, he would say that the time has come for some type of urgent action.

Here's why: the worst case scenario America could face is not a repeat of September 11, but a nuclear attack by terrorists. No government is crazy enough or strong enough to launch a nuclear attack against the United States — and that is what it takes: craziness plus capability. Terrorists have the craziness in spades. They'd love to nuke us, and have said so many times. They lack the nukes to do it. (So far, at least.)

Article Author: Eric Scheie

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