Mad Men
It seems more appropriate to respond via my own article when my comment turns out to be somewhat lengthy, which is never the intention. I simply write as much as is necessary in order to convey the point (s) I hope to make. As such, the following missive is my response to Ambassador Oren's Game-ender or game-changer? article.
The only thing that will ever alter the course of Iran's aim to annihilate Israel, is for a total revolution of the Iranian mindset and mental/spiritual framework of the country, and more precisely, the people who lead it. A generation of new thinkers is needed.
As long as radical Islamic doctrine is the fundamental basis of the ruling class of Iran and her proxies, Iran will always be single-minded in its goal of annihilation of Israel. But this goal is always and only a means to an end. Iran wants to annihilate or, at minimum, dominate the Western world. Israel, as both gatekeeper and the singular Western proxy of democracy in the Middle East, is a direct impediment to this goal.
Thus, until which time, a more evolved and egalitarian leadership becomes a reality in places like Iran, Yemen, Lebanon and Syria, et al., the only option available to Israel, and by extension the United States and the Western Bloc really, is to control Iran with an iron fist.
No one in the nearly 6,000 years of recorded human history has ever successfully reasoned with mad men, and God only knows not for lack of trying.
Freedom loving nations must act accordingly. There is evil in the world. Nations must be ever vigilant and refuse to be duped or beguiled by those with ignoble intentions, especially when they make pretense of retreat and seek appeasement.
Historically-speaking, appeasement policies simply have not proven very successful for civilized society. Think Gaza 2005. Sharon made a grave mistake by giving up Gaza to terrorists. Think Britain in the 1930s. Appeasing Hitler by allowing German expansion to go unchecked did not turn out so well for the world, or Jews.
History is a great teacher. And mirror. She illustrates time and again the endless cycles of dysfunction by which humanity spins wheels. Humans, evidently, are generally not very good students. We have short-term memories, and we do not internalize the lessons. Or so it seems. And so we keep doing the same stupid shit repeatedly and magically expect different results. Einstein called this insanity.
Diana Hochman is the author of Dispelling the Myth, a novel, purchase a copy here.