PRENOTE: Coincidentally the bombing of Iran started on the same day as my local political convention, which I attended in full.  So, basically, none of us had much of a notion of what was happening outside our venue.  Here is what I wrote about the convention itself, if you are interested.

*

There is so much happening at this moment especially in the Iran area that I want to add some items to the essential conversation.  We all need to be directly involved.

Here’s a rough map I adapted from an old Atlas I have which helps define the area.  This is from 1982, so the map is of the then USSR, but it serves the purpose (the USSR ceased existence in the early 1990s).   I particularly ask you to note the Persian Gulf and Strait of Hormuz at lower right (note arrow), and the Israel area at lower left.  The photo is also available on pdf form here: Iran and area 1982.  Iran, not all of which is shown on the map, is 2 1/2 times the size of Texas and has about 3 times the population.  It is a very large country.

Where do I stand on the current situation?  I am not a Pacifist in the purist sense.  On the other hand, after 9-11-01 I was one of the few who thought that going to war to avenge 9-11-01 would not have a good outcome, and I said so, publicly.  War is never a solution – the end of one war begets the next, as we learned after WWI.

In the current situation I am most interested in how history will be defined – where history begins.

With respect to Iran and “the west”, anyone with an interest should seek out a source that goes back at least to the beginning of the oil era, especially the political history.  (Every now and then I refer back to my 1977 edition of Britannica for such insights.). If you know someone of Iranian ancestry, ask them.  They will not necessarily speak with one voice.  Personally, I did a “preemptive” post entitled Iran the day before the 2026 State of the Union.  It can be read here.  You’ll note I directly quote two Iranian-Americans on the issue.

Personally, I remember President Jimmy Carter’s visit to Minnesota in 1978 to sign legislation relating to use of the Boundary Waters area.  It was not universally supported by Minnesotans (see #2 on this from Minnesota Public Radio).   I was at the then-Minneapolis Convention Center the day he spoke, with heckling from folks with “STOP” signs.   This demo didn’t relate to Iran, of course, but I do remember, that day, having to walk past a phalanx of protestors with grocery bag masks over their heads, apparently protesting the U.S. support of the Shah of Iran, though I had no idea, then, what that was all about.  (Here’s some history of visits by the Shah to the U.S.).

POSTNOTE: Here is Heather Cox Richardson’s March 2 Letters from an American on the issue.

COMMENTS:

from Carol, from CNN.com:

Americans living in the Gulf tell CNN that they are frustrated by the US government’s response in the region, with some saying they prefer to stay in their adopted home while others are heeding the warning to leave.

In the United Arab Emirates in particular, several Americans tell CNN that they have more confidence in Abu Dhabi’s leadership than Washington’s.

Kiran Ali, the creator of a WhatsApp group chat with 800 American women living in Dubai, says the overwhelming sentiment from members is trust in the UAE, “coupled with a bit of (a) disturbed feeling towards the US for not fronting money for evacuation, for not doing more to make sure US citizens are safe.”

She said that the US State Department’s call to immediately evacuate the region, despite airspaces being broadly closed, conflicts with the guidance it continues to give on the phone to shelter in place.

Other Americans living in the UAE tell CNN they prefer the uncertainty of missile interceptions to the risk of their kids experiencing a mass school shooting in the US.

“The cynic in me knows that my daughter has more of a chance of being hit by a bullet in the US than a drone in Dubai, so we feel very comfortable about seeing this through,” one man said.