Salon | Newsreal: Tag team, page 2

T A B L E+T A L K
California has outlawed smoking in bars. Should other states follow their lead? Speak out in the Headlines area of Table Talk

D A I L Y+Q U O T E
What's the condom etiquette for sex with the undead?

R E C E N T L Y
Now what?
By Jonathan Broder
Time may be running out for Kenneth Starr if he wants his investigation to result in anything but political impasse.
(03/06/98)
Pol Pot sends his regrets
By Andrew Ross
Some of the world's movers and shakers couldn't attend Time's gala 75th birthday party
(03/05/98)
Hillary Clinton is a traitor
By Neera Sohoni
In the Third World, where she has traveled widely, Hillary Rodham Clinton has become something of an icon of feminism
(03/04/98)
Size isn't everything
By David Corn
With poll numbers like President Clinton's, you'd think he could do something bold and important. Then why doesn't he?
(03/03/98)
Turkish delight
By Jonathan Broder
The Clinton administration says a huge arms-for-human-rights deal is important for Turkey's stability, but opponents say it's arming the torturers
(03/02/98)
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The Clinton administration's failures in Iraq -- as those of the Bush administration before it -- have left it casting about for a policy that will keep Saddam down. With few other options, it is only natural that American strategists should find themselves turning once again to Iraq's historical enemy, Iran.
There are, of course, plenty of reasons to remain wary of Iran. There is Tehran's support for terrorism, its opposition to the U.S.-sponsored Middle East peace process and a residual hatred for America among the hard-line mullahs.
But there is also an inescapable logic to a rapprochement with Tehran. Iran, for decades a pawn of Western powers, views itself as the strategic counterweight against the volatility and unpredictability of the Arab nations and tribes with which it shares the oil-rich Persian Gulf basin. While it opposes the U.S. military presence in the gulf, its strategic goal of balancing Iraq's power dovetails with American concerns.
The Iranians have plenty of reasons to fear Saddam and to keep him contained. Not only has the Iraqi dictator ruthlessly repressed Iran's co-religionist Shiite majority in southern Iraq, but their memories remain seared by Iraq's 1980 invasion and the eight murderous years of trench warfare that followed. More than a million are believed to have died in that dismal war -- some, it should be recalled, by Iraq's use of chemical weapons.
Last May's national elections in Iran opened the door to the realignment of forces that is quietly taking place. While the Islamic establishment supported the conservative speaker of parliament Ali Akbar Nateq-Noori for the presidency, the Iranian populace opted for a more liberal direction. By an overwhelming majority, voters turned against the tired fundamentalist leadership and chose as their president the Western-educated, relatively moderate cleric Mohammad Khatami.
Though ultimate power still resides in the hands of Iran's "Supreme Leader," the dour Ayatollah Ali Khameini, the new president -- ousted from his previous post of cultural minister for being too soft on Islamic purity and censorship -- has wasted little time trying to open up Iranian society to its own citizens, and to the long-shunned Western world.
President Khatami's opening salvo was a live interview with CNN's Christiane Amanpour in January, in which he praised "American civilization" and called for a renewed dialogue and exchange between the peoples of Iran and the United States in order to "crack the wall of mistrust" that has prevailed since 1979.
Diplomatic breakthroughs among bitter enemies rely on veiled symbolic gestures such as this. An American response came quickly. In his Jan. 28 message to honor the end of the month-long religious fast of Ramadan, President Clinton telegraphed Washington's own flexibility.
"To the people of Iran, I would like to say the United States regrets the estrangement of our two nations," Clinton declared. "We have real differences with some Iranian policies, but I believe these are not insurmountable. I hope that we have more exchanges between our people and that the day will soon come when we can enjoy once again good relations with Iran."
Within a month of that statement U.S. wrestlers were in Tehran fighting to great applause, with no less a spectator than Ali Akbar Nateq-Noori looking on. No sooner had the American wrestlers left Tehran than Middle East specialist Geoffrey Kemp arrived to hobnob with Iranian Foreign Ministry officials.
The significance of Kemp's visit should not be underestimated. A former member of the National Security Council during the Reagan administration, he is one of a handful of former U.S. officials and diplomats who have been quietly asked by the Clinton administration to come up with a viable alternative to its dual containment policy.
So beneath the official insistence that nothing is happening, the signs are that the United States and Iran are beginning to dance with each other once again. And the tune they're dancing to is probably the oldest song in the Middle East: "The enemy of my enemy is my friend."
SALON | March 6, 1998
Loren Jenkins, a former foreign correspondent for Newsweek and the Washington Post, is the senior foreign editor at National Public Radio.

T A B L E+T A L K California has outlawed smoking in bars. Should other states follow their lead? Speak out in the Headlines area of Table Talk D A I L Y+Q U O T E What's the condom etiquette for sex with the undead? R E C E N T L Y Now what? By Jonathan Broder Time may be running out for Kenneth Starr if he wants his investigation to result in anything but political impasse. (03/06/98) Pol Pot sends his regrets By Andrew Ross Some of the world's movers and shakers couldn't attend Time's gala 75th birthday party (03/05/98) Hillary Clinton is a traitor By Neera Sohoni In the Third World, where she has traveled widely, Hillary Rodham Clinton has become something of an icon of feminism (03/04/98) Size isn't everything By David Corn With poll numbers like President Clinton's, you'd think he could do something bold and important. Then why doesn't he? (03/03/98) Turkish delight By Jonathan Broder The Clinton administration says a huge arms-for-human-rights deal is important for Turkey's stability, but opponents say it's arming the torturers (03/02/98) - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Browse the Newsreal Archives - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
		TAG TEAM \| PAGE 2 OF 2 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - The Clinton administration's failures in Iraq -- as those of the Bush administration before it -- have left it casting about for a policy that will keep Saddam down. With few other options, it is only natural that American strategists should find themselves turning once again to Iraq's historical enemy, Iran. There are, of course, plenty of reasons to remain wary of Iran. There is Tehran's support for terrorism, its opposition to the U.S.-sponsored Middle East peace process and a residual hatred for America among the hard-line mullahs. But there is also an inescapable logic to a rapprochement with Tehran. Iran, for decades a pawn of Western powers, views itself as the strategic counterweight against the volatility and unpredictability of the Arab nations and tribes with which it shares the oil-rich Persian Gulf basin. While it opposes the U.S. military presence in the gulf, its strategic goal of balancing Iraq's power dovetails with American concerns. The Iranians have plenty of reasons to fear Saddam and to keep him contained. Not only has the Iraqi dictator ruthlessly repressed Iran's co-religionist Shiite majority in southern Iraq, but their memories remain seared by Iraq's 1980 invasion and the eight murderous years of trench warfare that followed. More than a million are believed to have died in that dismal war -- some, it should be recalled, by Iraq's use of chemical weapons. Last May's national elections in Iran opened the door to the realignment of forces that is quietly taking place. While the Islamic establishment supported the conservative speaker of parliament Ali Akbar Nateq-Noori for the presidency, the Iranian populace opted for a more liberal direction. By an overwhelming majority, voters turned against the tired fundamentalist leadership and chose as their president the Western-educated, relatively moderate cleric Mohammad Khatami. Though ultimate power still resides in the hands of Iran's "Supreme Leader," the dour Ayatollah Ali Khameini, the new president -- ousted from his previous post of cultural minister for being too soft on Islamic purity and censorship -- has wasted little time trying to open up Iranian society to its own citizens, and to the long-shunned Western world. President Khatami's opening salvo was a live interview with CNN's Christiane Amanpour in January, in which he praised "American civilization" and called for a renewed dialogue and exchange between the peoples of Iran and the United States in order to "crack the wall of mistrust" that has prevailed since 1979. Diplomatic breakthroughs among bitter enemies rely on veiled symbolic gestures such as this. An American response came quickly. In his Jan. 28 message to honor the end of the month-long religious fast of Ramadan, President Clinton telegraphed Washington's own flexibility. "To the people of Iran, I would like to say the United States regrets the estrangement of our two nations," Clinton declared. "We have real differences with some Iranian policies, but I believe these are not insurmountable. I hope that we have more exchanges between our people and that the day will soon come when we can enjoy once again good relations with Iran." Within a month of that statement U.S. wrestlers were in Tehran fighting to great applause, with no less a spectator than Ali Akbar Nateq-Noori looking on. No sooner had the American wrestlers left Tehran than Middle East specialist Geoffrey Kemp arrived to hobnob with Iranian Foreign Ministry officials. The significance of Kemp's visit should not be underestimated. A former member of the National Security Council during the Reagan administration, he is one of a handful of former U.S. officials and diplomats who have been quietly asked by the Clinton administration to come up with a viable alternative to its dual containment policy. So beneath the official insistence that nothing is happening, the signs are that the United States and Iran are beginning to dance with each other once again. And the tune they're dancing to is probably the oldest song in the Middle East: "The enemy of my enemy is my friend." SALON \| March 6, 1998 Loren Jenkins, a former foreign correspondent for Newsweek and the Washington Post, is the senior foreign editor at National Public Radio.