The US maintains Iran as an enemy first because the Pentagon needs an enemy to justify its existence and second because US policy fixations on controlling the world's oil supply and providing unlimited support to Israel require a "target" that conceals these real concerns.
With all due respect - this isn't rocket science. On the one hand, Iran has things that we want (hydrocarbons. strategic location, markets, etc.).
On the other hand, there is no easy way for us to get at those things we want without torking off our erstwhile client states (Saudi Arabia and especially Israel).
Then take into account the dysfunctional nature of US domestic politics, which prioritizes scoring points at the expense of the other team over benefiting the nation as a whole (and both team R and Team D compete as to who can demonstrate greater fealty towards Israel) and all becomes clear.
My impression is that US hostility towards Iran is primarily driven by the influence of the Israeli lobby. Israel, of course, wishes to preserve its dominance in the region as the only nuclear-armed state, and Iran is the only other country that has the potential to threaten Israel's dominance. So Israel exploits its relationship with the US to encourage a state of constant hostility between the US and Iran.
It's true that the overall political dysfunction in the US and the reflexive hostility of its foreign policy both play a role in facilitating the hostile status quo in regards to Iran. But I would not describe the situation as "completely irrational," since it is not irrational for Israel to pursue objectives that they believe are in line with their interests. But I do wish that both the US and Israel had the capacity to critically reevaluate whether their best interests are truly served by maintaining an aggressively hostile stance towards Iran.
While I'm not in favor of adding a single nuclear weapon to the world, I have to admit that I would rather see Iran as a significant counter weight against all our so called allies in the region. I see them as on par with Israel on several levels and several notches above the Saudi/UAE alliance (in the democratic "values" department) we so actively support.
The US maintains Iran as an enemy first because the Pentagon needs an enemy to justify its existence and second because US policy fixations on controlling the world's oil supply and providing unlimited support to Israel require a "target" that conceals these real concerns.
With all due respect - this isn't rocket science. On the one hand, Iran has things that we want (hydrocarbons. strategic location, markets, etc.).
On the other hand, there is no easy way for us to get at those things we want without torking off our erstwhile client states (Saudi Arabia and especially Israel).
Then take into account the dysfunctional nature of US domestic politics, which prioritizes scoring points at the expense of the other team over benefiting the nation as a whole (and both team R and Team D compete as to who can demonstrate greater fealty towards Israel) and all becomes clear.
My impression is that US hostility towards Iran is primarily driven by the influence of the Israeli lobby. Israel, of course, wishes to preserve its dominance in the region as the only nuclear-armed state, and Iran is the only other country that has the potential to threaten Israel's dominance. So Israel exploits its relationship with the US to encourage a state of constant hostility between the US and Iran.
It's true that the overall political dysfunction in the US and the reflexive hostility of its foreign policy both play a role in facilitating the hostile status quo in regards to Iran. But I would not describe the situation as "completely irrational," since it is not irrational for Israel to pursue objectives that they believe are in line with their interests. But I do wish that both the US and Israel had the capacity to critically reevaluate whether their best interests are truly served by maintaining an aggressively hostile stance towards Iran.
It is a feat to write an article about the "Iran threat" without once mentioning Israel.
While I'm not in favor of adding a single nuclear weapon to the world, I have to admit that I would rather see Iran as a significant counter weight against all our so called allies in the region. I see them as on par with Israel on several levels and several notches above the Saudi/UAE alliance (in the democratic "values" department) we so actively support.