by Ravi Embar

Created on: June 26, 2008

There is a certain logic to the paradox that "Iran is viewed as America's most serious threat even though its youthful population is among the most pro-western Muslim countries" since it is most of the politicians on both sides who are engaging in election rhetoric and threatening to take serious action, while the knowledgeable members of the public, whether youthful or mature, hope for a cooling period in the heated verbal skirmishes and a return to warmer ties.

In the nineteen seventies, Iran was a key ally of the United States and the former Shah of Iran had close links with American leaders. He was widely praised as a moderate ruler in the Western media but within Iran, there was widespread disillusionment with his progressive Western policies among the burgeoning ranks of the religious segments of the population. The Shah did not tolerate any opposition to his viewpoints and ruthlessly crushed dissent by giving free rein to his security police, Savak, to repress and brutalize his own people.

As a result of the growing disenchantment with the Shah's rule, the late Ayatollah Khomeini, who was living in exile in France, was able to successfully direct the wrath of the Iranian people against the Shah and his allies. The Shah was deposed and fled to exile in the West along with his family. The Ayatollah Khomeini became the paramount guiding religious figure for the Iranian revolution and the religious mullahs were in control. The repressed anger and animosity of the Iranian youth were unleashed on the Shah's allies as radical students surrounded the US embassy and held the embassy staff hostage for more than a year. In the US Presidential elections of 1980, Ronald Reagan won the election mainly due to the continued confinement of the US embassy staff. The hostages were released as President Reagan was sworn into office.

Even after the release of the hostages, there were many people on both sides, in addition to the actual hostages and the victims of the Savak torture, who were still held captive by the painful memories of the past. The recent historical enmity between the two governments has further delayed the eventual reconciliation and prevented moderates from exerting a calming influence on the partisan posturing.

If all types of threatening tirades, rabble-rousing rhetoric and destructive special interest spin are excised from the political discourse, it will be possible for employing level-headed thinking and constructive dialogue to work towards an amicable future.

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