Javad Zarif
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You have read me before in admiring ambassador of Iran to United Nations, Mr. Javad Zarif. I can’t help it. Never met the man and may never will. He represents a government I loathe. I have very little in common with him or his ideals. Yet he impresses me time and again with his reasonable speech and articulate rationale.
I mean let’s just for a minute put aside the fact that he is an employee of a system known for it’s systematic violation of basic human rights as well as being a tremendous risk to the region and global security, then read what he says about the future of Iraq:
“The devastating effects of the invasion of Iran by Saddam Hussein’s regime in 1980, as well as protracted instability in Afghanistan over two decades — producing terrorism, drug trafficking and an influx of refugees — have given rise to a strong national consensus in Iran that confrontation, regardless of outcome, brings nothing but death, destruction and tremendous waste of valuable human and material resources.”
And then:
“Our region needs reform geared toward greater participation, respect for the rule of law and human rights. Reform, however, must be homegrown. Democracy cannot be imported, let alone imposed by tanks and missiles. Indigenous models of reform and participation may not be as fully articulated as the systems of the West (which has had its own periods of trial and tribulation). Reform efforts like that within Iran should be seen as a process rather than a project — with the attendant ups and downs, setbacks and victories. But in the final analysis, these are the only models that Middle Eastern people can truly claim ownership of, and that can withstand the pressures of time and changing geopolitical circumstances.”
Read his complete op-ed piece from The New York Times..
