Feb. 28, 2010
 
LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Peter Cohen Is Naive in the Extreme About Middle East Realities
 
I am sure Peter Cohen is a well motivated artist and activist who, like most of us, would prefer to see the political and military temperature in the Middle East turned down considerably. However, he is naive to the nth degree to believe that addressing the Iran situation in the manner he proposes would be effective or would even escape being laughed at by the Iranians....and perhaps others in that part of the world. (Link to Cohen's column on HNN: http://www.huntingtonnews.net/columns/100227-cohen-columnspeacevoice.html).
 
While Iran is certainly at odds in many ways with some of her Arab neighbors, on one point they are almost all united: the ultimate erasure of the State of Israel from the map of that region. The coninuing education of Islamic children of the importance of violent jihad against anyone who even blinks at Islam and the nonstop denial of the Holocaust leaves no room for simplistic solutions. Please also read the commentary reciting the attitudes of just one Arab dictator Muammar Gadaffi who calls for violence in place of diplomacy for a totally nonviolent decision by the Swiss government.
 
Just as Mr Cohen believes the realpolitik of the western powers would cause her to be a military target if she were to launch a nuclear strike against Israel, surely Israel knows as well how foolhardy it would be for the tiniest state on earth to launch such a strike as well.
 
When Mr Cohen speaks of gentleman diplomacy somehow to balance matters with Iran, he recites solid reason for him to advance his artistic studies while remaining an ardent activist but also to look realistically at the elements at work in the Middle East Struggle.
 
Respectfully,