What Is In A Handshake? A Nascent Opening....

As expected, the leaders of Pakistan and Israel met briefly today within the corridors of power that is the preeminent international body, the United Nations. The setting was appropriately New York City, the site where four years previously the culmination of decades of Old World religious fanatacism spilled over into the streets of that great New World metropolis. Whatever one's politics maybe, the events of that day and countless others before it remain morally indefensible, so it was with much delight that Messer's Sharon and Musharraf gave each other the benefit of the doubt and behaved in accordance with the better angels of their respective heritages and cultures.

But what is in a handshake? Time will tell. The moment is rife with symbolism for it is an open secret that on September 10th 2001, to distinguish Al Qeada from senior elements of the Pakistani Intelligence Services (ISI) would have amounted to little more than a mere play on words. In a similar vein, the transformation and evolution of Sharon is staggering , save the question of the West Bank and that too remains unclear as to its final outcome. Yet, be that as it may, the nascent opening is bolstered by the proverbial wisdom of the saying that "the longest journey begins with one small step," a handshake for example.

Well Done Iran........

The thrust of the previous post was that yet another chance for advancing US-Iranian comity was slipping away. As someone who wishes ill towards neither party, since creating this blog, I have elected to be a watchdog of sorts, keeping tabs on how these two estranged nations interact with one another and periodically, when events warrant, use the blog as a soapbox from which I can launch a broadside or two when either government screws up or offer a nod of approval when they get it right. Well, due to the crisis spawned by Katrina I found it sorely lacking that the government in Tehran could muster nothing better than condolences for the victims left in Katrina's wake, which when translated from the parlance of international relations amounted to the diplomatic equivalent of a social nicety.

Alas....Tehran has improved it's standing with this critic as it was reported by the BBC this morning that Iran is prepared to immediately send 20 million barrels of crude to the US and assist the fragile economic condition of the country at a time when our own supplies have been dramatically curtailed. Kudos to the forward thinking individual in Tehran for this gesture. Notwithstanding the wall of mistrust that separates Washington and Tehran, diplomacy and national interests must not play second fiddle to ideology and political posturing. As we all know, Katrina's impact on our ability to refine crude has been the most damaging result of the storm on the hydrocarbon sector of the economy, but with an injection of 20 million barrels of Iranian crude the pressure on US refining capacity will be significantly alleviated. Since Iranian oil is the 'good stuff' - that is, not all oil is created equally if u will (Iranian oil is described as 'light sweet crude' as opposed to the 'heavier' and therefore more intensively refined) meaning the need for refinenment is substantially reduced. Just as Iran accepted US aid during the Bam earthquake, let's hope Washington will do the same now.

Another Missed Opportunity?

With rare exception, natural disasters such as Hurricane Katrina, as awful as they are, provide opportunities for nations that are otherwise at odds with one another, to find common ground. It's a measure of each nation's shared humanity - basic stuff really. As events unfold in the Big Easy, Biloxi and countless other towns in the surrounding area, I cannot help but take note of the fact that, yet again, another opportunity for simple, decent humanitarianism is quickly slipping by. The government of The Islamic Republic Of Iran could have responded appropriately by doing more that the mere perfunctionary offering condolences, which to their credit, they have expressed. While words are not unimportant, nor unappreciated, why not take unequivocal action such as offering to immediately provide search and rescue teams that because of Iran's own vulnerability to natural disasters, earthquakes for example, it is more than capable of doing. When in December 2003 an earthquake destroyed the city of Bam, the United States government put aside political differences they had with the government in Tehran and offered to send their own search and rescue teams to assist the ordinary Iranian people amidst the widespread misery. Now it is Iran's turn. As I tell my eight year old, always offer to help - whether it is accepted or not is not the issue - basic stuff really.