In return, the international community lifted severe sanctions that had hurt ordinary Iranians. Iran is coming out of isolation to take its rightful place among the world’s nations, re-establishing trade and business ties. Diplomacy can accomplish miracles given time, patience, and good will.

A Vatican statement speaks of “the important role that Iran is called upon to fulfill in promoting peaceful solutions in Middle Eastern conflicts and countering the spread of terrorism and arms trafficking.” 250,000 civilian deaths have occurred in the Syrian conflict.  Talks in London are scheduled to bring relief to the suffering population.

Pope Francis sees the Iran nuclear deal as “giving hope for the future.” Pope Francis and President Rouhani discussed “the importance of inter-religious dialogue and the responsibility of religious communities in promoting reconciliation, tolerance, and peace.”

The visit ended with Pope Francis thanking President Rouhani and saying, “I hope for peace.” President Rouhani replied by asking Pope Francis to pray for him.

President Obama reminded the nation that the United States is not at war with Islam, but only with violent fundamentalism. Such fundamentalism is not only Islamist — witness the recent shooting at a Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado Springs.

Hawks want to declare World War IV against what they call “Islamic radicalism” and use ground U.S. troops to destroy the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq. But I.S.I.S. arose in response to the U.S. invasion of Iraq, and even if we eradicated I.S.I.S., we should expect it to metastasize. Meanwhile, the drain on the nation’s lives and budget would be immense.

When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, Western triumphalists claimed that there henceforth would be no alternative to global capitalism with a veneer of liberal democracy. But our destruction of a secular — if highly imperfect — alternative (namely, Communism and even socialism) left few outlets other than religious extremism. As global climate change and economic globalization put great strains on people, we can expect more violent challenges, unless we make space for truly democratic alternatives to the current economic and military world order.

Does Pence make sense? Does he honor Hoosiers or again make us look like bigots? Let’s consult the facts, not our fears. Since 9/ll only some 37 Americans have been killed by Islamists– fewer than by other terrorists–while 90 thousand Americans have been murdered, many with firearms. Who’s more dangerous? Were Islamists looking to infiltrate our borders, there are many quicker and easier ways, so Syrian refugees, many of them Christian or minorities, are hardly a significant source of danger. Alas, there are enough extremists already living here. America benefited from Jewish refugees in Hitler’s time, and can again benefit from new talents and viewpoints.

Some candidates want to exclude Muslims only. This is un-American. Such anti-Muslim discrimination, Islamophobia, gives credence to the ISIL propaganda according to which we Westerners are opposing Islam. Whatever our beliefs, we need the cooperation of all groups to alert the police about dangerous radicals, Islamists among them. The great majority of Muslims oppose Islamist distortions of their religion, as their leaders have repeatedly told us. We need to stand with them.

Biden’s words were directed at the current front runners in both parties. Hillary Clinton and Marco Rubio want to send more arms to the “moderate” rebels against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and to establish a no-fly zone that would bar the Syrian air force from controlling part of Syrian air space, in order to protect not only civilians but also armed combatants against the Assad regime.

Clinton and Rubio have the righteousness that is legitimized by the manifest brutality of the Assad regime, which has used chemical weapons against its own people. But so did Iraqi President Saddam Hussein; yet regime change unleashed sectarian strife, including ISIS. Rather than strengthening Syrian moderates, U.S. arms would likely wind up falling into the hands of ISIS and al Qaeda. A no-fly zone could involve a clash with Russia, which is supporting Assad. Rubio and Clinton take a tough tone toward Russian President Vladimir Putin as well, without saying how far they would go. And that invites unpredictable escalation.

A diplomatic solution must involve everyone, friend and foe. It will be far from perfect. Everything else would be much worse.

References

https://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/22/us/joe-biden-concludes-theres-no-time-for-a-2016-run.html

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/marco-rubio-russia-no-flyzone_5612e38ae4b0368a1a60ad06

https://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/hillary-clinton-calls-no-fly-zones-syria

https://blog.peaceactionwest.org/2015/10/27/peaceful-alternatives-to-war-pick-up-steam-in-congress/

https://fcnl.org/issues/middle_east/34_organizations_urge_administration_to_tackle_root_causes_of_syria_crisis/

War is not the answer but is big business for a few U.S. companies. We are the largest maker of weaponry and sell arms to the world. The U.S. just concluded the biggest arms deal ever with a key player in the Syrian conflict: Saudi Arabia.

Let’s cultivate peace and turn to a diplomatic solution. Military action has only made things worse. The talks in Vienna are a good start. Over 18 nations are taking part. Remember, one must bargain with ones enemies as well as with ones friends. Perhaps a cease fire will begin the peace process; then an arms embargo for all government and rebel groups. A UN peacekeeping force can be called in. President Obama may have to lead diplomatic efforts to reach a negotiated end to the civil war in Syria. All the above would slow the flow of migrants and bring some much-needed stability to the Middle East. There is another way!

Mr. Obama decided not to provide more arms to the moderate Syrian rebels precisely because he was rightly concerned that these weapons might well fall into the hands of ISIS.

The current chaos in Iraq, Syria, and beyond is a consequence of the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq, which Hillary Clinton supported and Barack Obama opposed.

In its first decree, the American occupation ordered that all public sector employees affiliated with the Ba’ath Party were to be removed from their positions and to be banned from any future employment in the public sector. This effectively disenfranchised huge numbers of Iraq’s Sunnis, who were the core of the old regime. The new government was Shiite and sectarian. Until these deeper political issues are addressed, ISIS will find support even among those who deplore its brutality.

It is not President Obama, but the Neoconservatives who planned the invasion of Iraq before the September 11th attacks, whom Hillary Clinton should be blaming. She might add a word of remorse for her own role.

Sources:

The Atlantic

The Guardian

Mondoweiss

On De-Ba’athification

Slate

The Nation