US may shift its Iran policy post Bush - by Jalal Alavi
Ever since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 and the terror events of September 11, 2001, the world has, as a result of US opportunism, witnessed the creation, or intensification of three major trends in international politics.
Firstly, the re-emergence of an agitated Russia - as reflected by Vladimir Putin's remarks in the Munich conference of February 10 - as a bastion against further US expansionism in Central as well as Southwest Asia. Secondly, a more aggressive brand of terrorism associated with self-styled Islamist movements (Sunni and Shiite alike) intent on challenging traditional US influence in the Middle East. Thirdly, a sort of Cold War-like preoccupation with matters related to global security and defense on the part of the Western democratic community, which is very much emerging at the expense of that community's capacity and desire for attending to such issues as human rights and democratization in the hitherto undemocratic segments of the developing world.
Should the Islamic Republic somehow manage to escape an attack by the Bush administration - which would truly benefit everyone, including the US - by perhaps slightly modifying its rigid stance against the international community, and war-weary Democrats win the White House during the course of the next US presidential election, it is almost certain that the US, under new leadership, would see it fit to eventually initiate reconciliation efforts with the Iranian regime, in hopes that such reconciliation would, as mentioned earlier, not only steer Iran away from Russia, but also eventually open up its markets and government-owned industries to US influence and domination, in line with neo-liberal principles dictated by the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.
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