April 12 will indeed become a day to remember. It is a day, which likely will be remembered as a turning point of the international community and, most importantly, the day which ended United States world dominance.
On this day, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran announced to the world that Iran had become a full-fledged nuclear power. Secretary of State Hilary Clinton labeled this claim a scam, accusing Iran of “flouting the rules” or seeking nuclear weapons through the façade of a peaceful nation developing a nuclear project for “energy purposes.”
Also, on this day Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu announced he will not be attending President Obama’s nuclear security summit that took place last week in Washington, thus signifying the U.S.’s loss of control over the Israeli state’s international diplomatic affairs, at least when it comes to nuclear weapons.
The “threat” Iran poses to Israel, who allegedly has around 200 nuclear warheads, is anything but bearable. Because of this, Israel will not hesitate to make Tehran the new Baghdad — in essence, blowing them back to the Stone Age.
These are strange times we live in — times where nuclear terminology has become the only means of international communication; where Israel’s ties with the U.S. are less than friendly and the Islamic Republic of Iran has finally acquired a full-fledged nuclear program.
Indeed, these times prove to be most worrisome for developed countries. Who knows when one of our cities will be blown to bits with a nuclear warhead? Or when we ourselves will orchestrate an attack that will lead to the complete destruction of entire cities, countries and civilizations? And if we choose not to wage such an attack, what will hold us back — will it be the money we will lose from all our international endeavors? Or will it be the oil prices that would sky rocket due to scarcity and lack of accessible resources?
I am not an analyst but I think it is safe to say that any form of nuclear attack — whether it be from “our” side or “theirs” — would bring nothing less than absolute chaos, instilling unfathomable amounts of fear, debt and destruction upon our already brittle societies. That is not to mention the hundreds of thousands of people who would either be dead, dying or exposed to radiation from the nuclear fallout.
The defiance expressed on the parts of both Iran and Israel toward the U.S. last week has arrived at the most inappropriate and dangerous of times; if these countries cannot come to a decent compromise, the world as we know it may not survive what may be headed our way. The entire region of the Middle East may become completely wiped off the map.
While I may not agree that the U.S. should be the one to carry out this great task of mediator, this country has already volunteered to do so, just like it “volunteered” to clean up Iraq and fix Afghanistan. In this hegemonic global system we live under today, U.S. interference appears to be the only hope for a peaceful solution. Let’s hope Obama has an unlimited amount of hope stored off somewhere because this time we will need all the help we can get.
Dina Al-Hayek is a junior political science major and a columnist for the Daily 49er.
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