U.S. representatives are currently in Iran negotiating a contract regarding Iran’s possible access of nuclear weapons in the near future. The contract, as it stands now, would put limited restrictions on Iran’s nuclear technological developments, which within a decade could prove fatal for the world.
-Kelsey Tostenson
-Kelsey Tostenson
U.S. representatives are currently in Iran negotiating a contract regarding Iran’s possible access of nuclear weapons in the near future. The contract, as it stands now, would put limited restrictions on Iran’s nuclear technological developments, which within a decade could prove fatal for the world. The contract would limit the amount of uranium Iran was allowed to produce, making it impossible to make a nuclear weapon with the amount of resources allocated to them. It would also monitor them closely to insure they are not hiding any illegal nuclear weapons or buying them 'under the table' from other countries. On March 3, Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu spoke to the U.S. congress about the issues in the middle east. He discouraged the U.S. from allowing Iran to get its hands on nuclear weapon technology and stressed the urgency of the matter. According to Netanyahu, “America’s founding document promises life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Iran’s founding document pledges death, tyranny and the pursuit of jihad,” a blanket statement that put the world on edge, unsure how to proceed with the issue at hand.
Netanyahu’s speech was controversial enough in itself. With only weeks before the election for Israeli prime minister, his speech to the Congress shocked everyone as it is traditionally considered taboo to speak or interact with another nation so close to election time. More notable perhaps than simply the fact that Netanyahu spoke to the U.S. congress was the fact that he was not invited to speak by president Obama himself. Netanyahu was invited to the white house by house speaker, John Boehner.
Over the last few months, the media has been bombarded with images of ISIS, a Muslim extremist group from the Middle East. Armed with machine guns, they parade down the streets of Syria and Iraq, capturing the innocent and the attention of many. And although ISIS has made its mark in the media, according to Netanyahu, Iran has been allowed to slide under the radar, making them more dangerous than ever.
The trouble with this contract is that it is the U.S.’s way of buying time to try and figure out how to proceed, but despite the severity of the issue at hand, the media continues to focus its attention on ISIS. Meanwhile, Iran’s nuclear prospects have been placed on to the backburner.
In the wake of World War II The Cold War erupted between America and the Soviet Union (Russia). It was a time when the nation lay paralyzed with fear of impending nuclear attack. However, the Cold War was also a time of great scientific strides for both countries: the Soviet Union’s launching of Sputnik, the first satellite into space, and America’s putting the first man on the moon. America was tense as the Cold War spanned around 40 years, but the empty threats that kept the nation on edge eventually resolved in the 90’s with the collapse of the Soviet Union.
The potential for danger in the situation at hand is far more grave than in the Cold War. Although the Soviet Union continuously threatened America, they never made good on those threats. In light of recent events we can see that Iran, unlike the Soviets, is not trigger shy, and is more likely more than happy to put those nuclear weapons to use, resulting in explosions that could prove catastrophic for everyone. It sounds straight out of a science fiction, but this is no work of art, it is reality and it is happening right now, and most American citizens don’t know the potential consequences.. The whole controversy basically boils down to trust, or lack of it. Iran’s countless threats towards Israel and most recently an Iran spying scandal, makes it hard to trust them with nuclear weapons.
In the Middle East, Iran hopes to spread their Shiite faith, a branch of Islam, to the rest of the world, however share ISIS as a common enemy with the U.S. ISIS is another Muslim extremist group rooted in the middle east, but their slight variation in interpretation of the Koran has put a target on their back. Neither group is better than the other, they are both murdering hundreds of people, but they both have separate interpretations of the same book that is leading them into Jihad, a holy war, as an attempt to force a unified radical religion on the rest of the world.
During the 1920’s a wave of fundamentalism swept through the nation. It was a time when many clung to the Bible and tried to live and abide by everything it said. It was believed that their was only one “right” way to interpret the bible. Accompanied by this wave of fundamentalism was a push from many to stop teaching Darwinism and the theory of evolution in schools. The Scopes Trial in 1925 dominated the headlines of newspapers and magazines for months through the duration of the trial. John Scopes, went against Tennessee state law that banned the teaching of evolution in schools. His lawyer Clarence Darrow went up against state lawyer, Williams Jennings Bryan, a very influential political figure of the time. Darrow did something unheard of when he brought Bryan up to the stand, the lawyer to the other side. Darrow asked Bryan some questions about the bible including one that addressed the rapidness in which Christians believed the Earth was created. Darrow basically commented that it was amazing that God could have created Earth in a mere seven days, to which Bryan replied by saying that it was not necessarily seven days of twenty-four hours. This shocked the nation, before this point, there was a belief that the bible could only be interpreted in one way. This was groundbreaking because all of the sudden it justified different interpretations of the one book that unified all branches of the Christian faith.
In Iran we see almost the inverse scenario occurring. Currently, like Christianity there are many branches of Islam and many different ways to interpret the Koran. Common branches of Islam include, the Sunnis (traditionalists), the Sufi's (Mystics), and the Shiites (partisans, and the religion practiced in Iran.), Around 25% of the world’s population practices Islam, but about 85% of Muslims follow the Sunni branch. The Shiites have less followers, but they are more aggressive with their beliefs. The end outcome of the Scopes trial was that it was discovered that their are multiple ways to interpret the bible. In Iran, other interpretations of the Koran are acknowledged, but regarded as incorrect. They believe it is their duty to start a holy war, to convert the rest of the world to their interpretation of the book. According to the Washington Post, Ali Khamenei (leader of Iran) said, “The Zionist regime is a true cancer tumor on this region that should be cut off.” He is referring to the leadership in Israel. Zionism is a branch of Judaism not commonly practiced within the Jewish community. Regardless, there is extreme anti-Semitic sentiment that is arising from Iran. But Iran is not just anti-Semitic, the prejudices the hold extend much farther beyond simply Judaism. Iran is pretty much anti any religion that threatens or opposes their beliefs. They celebrate Jihad, or a holy war to come and hope that with the war, the world will convert to their branch of Islam.
In writing this article I have spent countless hours, reading articles, watching news channels with both liberal and conservative bias’s, watched YouTube videos, and gathered many peoples opinions regarding the issue at hand. The truth is, there is no obvious solution to this, or magical way to simplify the issues at hand. In all of my research, I still am not confident I fully or even partially understand the severity of what is presently going on. From what I understand, Iran and America have been butting heads for quite some time now, always on the brink of the war. Iran has been holding threats of war above Americas heads for years now, but America has always had the security of knowing that we have nuclear power, and Iran does not. Now finally on somewhat decent terms with Iran, they are asking for access to nuclear weapons. They want to team up with the U.S. to take care of a common enemy, (ISIS), but as soon as they are done with ISIS, what will stop them from finally making good on their threats of taking us down? And why do we need Iran to do our dirty work for us, if ISIS is as big of a threat as Iran is claiming then why don't we take care of it ourselves? In truth be told, we don't need Iran to take care of ISIS for us, if we wanted to stop the conflicts we have the military power to do so ourselves. If Iran was simply worried about their safety like they say then wouldn't a treaty or a pact to protect them be enough? The problem with nuclear weapons is although they may be quick and effective, they typically cause more harm then good. Not only would a nuclear weapon leave its mark on the the soil, it would kill thousands of innocent people, curse many cancer and ultimately degrade our atmosphere. Is ISIS big enough of a threat to justify these long term effects. This is an issue that I think many people are struggling with, and will be a big factor in the upcoming 2016 presidential election.
Netanyahu’s speech was controversial enough in itself. With only weeks before the election for Israeli prime minister, his speech to the Congress shocked everyone as it is traditionally considered taboo to speak or interact with another nation so close to election time. More notable perhaps than simply the fact that Netanyahu spoke to the U.S. congress was the fact that he was not invited to speak by president Obama himself. Netanyahu was invited to the white house by house speaker, John Boehner.
Over the last few months, the media has been bombarded with images of ISIS, a Muslim extremist group from the Middle East. Armed with machine guns, they parade down the streets of Syria and Iraq, capturing the innocent and the attention of many. And although ISIS has made its mark in the media, according to Netanyahu, Iran has been allowed to slide under the radar, making them more dangerous than ever.
The trouble with this contract is that it is the U.S.’s way of buying time to try and figure out how to proceed, but despite the severity of the issue at hand, the media continues to focus its attention on ISIS. Meanwhile, Iran’s nuclear prospects have been placed on to the backburner.
In the wake of World War II The Cold War erupted between America and the Soviet Union (Russia). It was a time when the nation lay paralyzed with fear of impending nuclear attack. However, the Cold War was also a time of great scientific strides for both countries: the Soviet Union’s launching of Sputnik, the first satellite into space, and America’s putting the first man on the moon. America was tense as the Cold War spanned around 40 years, but the empty threats that kept the nation on edge eventually resolved in the 90’s with the collapse of the Soviet Union.
The potential for danger in the situation at hand is far more grave than in the Cold War. Although the Soviet Union continuously threatened America, they never made good on those threats. In light of recent events we can see that Iran, unlike the Soviets, is not trigger shy, and is more likely more than happy to put those nuclear weapons to use, resulting in explosions that could prove catastrophic for everyone. It sounds straight out of a science fiction, but this is no work of art, it is reality and it is happening right now, and most American citizens don’t know the potential consequences.. The whole controversy basically boils down to trust, or lack of it. Iran’s countless threats towards Israel and most recently an Iran spying scandal, makes it hard to trust them with nuclear weapons.
In the Middle East, Iran hopes to spread their Shiite faith, a branch of Islam, to the rest of the world, however share ISIS as a common enemy with the U.S. ISIS is another Muslim extremist group rooted in the middle east, but their slight variation in interpretation of the Koran has put a target on their back. Neither group is better than the other, they are both murdering hundreds of people, but they both have separate interpretations of the same book that is leading them into Jihad, a holy war, as an attempt to force a unified radical religion on the rest of the world.
During the 1920’s a wave of fundamentalism swept through the nation. It was a time when many clung to the Bible and tried to live and abide by everything it said. It was believed that their was only one “right” way to interpret the bible. Accompanied by this wave of fundamentalism was a push from many to stop teaching Darwinism and the theory of evolution in schools. The Scopes Trial in 1925 dominated the headlines of newspapers and magazines for months through the duration of the trial. John Scopes, went against Tennessee state law that banned the teaching of evolution in schools. His lawyer Clarence Darrow went up against state lawyer, Williams Jennings Bryan, a very influential political figure of the time. Darrow did something unheard of when he brought Bryan up to the stand, the lawyer to the other side. Darrow asked Bryan some questions about the bible including one that addressed the rapidness in which Christians believed the Earth was created. Darrow basically commented that it was amazing that God could have created Earth in a mere seven days, to which Bryan replied by saying that it was not necessarily seven days of twenty-four hours. This shocked the nation, before this point, there was a belief that the bible could only be interpreted in one way. This was groundbreaking because all of the sudden it justified different interpretations of the one book that unified all branches of the Christian faith.
In Iran we see almost the inverse scenario occurring. Currently, like Christianity there are many branches of Islam and many different ways to interpret the Koran. Common branches of Islam include, the Sunnis (traditionalists), the Sufi's (Mystics), and the Shiites (partisans, and the religion practiced in Iran.), Around 25% of the world’s population practices Islam, but about 85% of Muslims follow the Sunni branch. The Shiites have less followers, but they are more aggressive with their beliefs. The end outcome of the Scopes trial was that it was discovered that their are multiple ways to interpret the bible. In Iran, other interpretations of the Koran are acknowledged, but regarded as incorrect. They believe it is their duty to start a holy war, to convert the rest of the world to their interpretation of the book. According to the Washington Post, Ali Khamenei (leader of Iran) said, “The Zionist regime is a true cancer tumor on this region that should be cut off.” He is referring to the leadership in Israel. Zionism is a branch of Judaism not commonly practiced within the Jewish community. Regardless, there is extreme anti-Semitic sentiment that is arising from Iran. But Iran is not just anti-Semitic, the prejudices the hold extend much farther beyond simply Judaism. Iran is pretty much anti any religion that threatens or opposes their beliefs. They celebrate Jihad, or a holy war to come and hope that with the war, the world will convert to their branch of Islam.
In writing this article I have spent countless hours, reading articles, watching news channels with both liberal and conservative bias’s, watched YouTube videos, and gathered many peoples opinions regarding the issue at hand. The truth is, there is no obvious solution to this, or magical way to simplify the issues at hand. In all of my research, I still am not confident I fully or even partially understand the severity of what is presently going on. From what I understand, Iran and America have been butting heads for quite some time now, always on the brink of the war. Iran has been holding threats of war above Americas heads for years now, but America has always had the security of knowing that we have nuclear power, and Iran does not. Now finally on somewhat decent terms with Iran, they are asking for access to nuclear weapons. They want to team up with the U.S. to take care of a common enemy, (ISIS), but as soon as they are done with ISIS, what will stop them from finally making good on their threats of taking us down? And why do we need Iran to do our dirty work for us, if ISIS is as big of a threat as Iran is claiming then why don't we take care of it ourselves? In truth be told, we don't need Iran to take care of ISIS for us, if we wanted to stop the conflicts we have the military power to do so ourselves. If Iran was simply worried about their safety like they say then wouldn't a treaty or a pact to protect them be enough? The problem with nuclear weapons is although they may be quick and effective, they typically cause more harm then good. Not only would a nuclear weapon leave its mark on the the soil, it would kill thousands of innocent people, curse many cancer and ultimately degrade our atmosphere. Is ISIS big enough of a threat to justify these long term effects. This is an issue that I think many people are struggling with, and will be a big factor in the upcoming 2016 presidential election.
As i was doing my research I began wondering what common ‘average Joe’ american teenager knew about what was going on in the middle east. I promised the students that their names could remain anonymous and simply asked them, “What do you know about what is going on in the middle east and what are your opinions on it?” I did not specify that they knew had to be about the American and Iran nuclear conflict, I just asked them the question and let them run with it.I knew that most people would have limited knowledge on the subject matter because of the complexity of the contents, but I still thought it would be interesting to find out what the general knowledge among people was. I also wanted to find out common misconception or just research any topics that were brought up in the interviews.
“I think that The United States is betraying Israel by supplying weapons to Israel's enemies. [Iran] I feel this will create anti-Semitic sentiment. This worries me because there is already a movement among college campuses called ‘boycott Israel’ and despite denial this is rooted in anti-Semitic because people are threatening to cut ties with Israel which was created to be a safe haven for Jews. The movement includes protesting studying abroad in Israel and some people take it so far as to not support Israel,” said a teenager, 18 years of age. After one of my peers gave me this quote I was interested in learning more about “boycott Israel” campaign and so I began to research the organization. The organization website says that they are against the way the people of Palestine are being treated. They feel that it is Israel's duty to protect and insure that the human rights of Palestinians are protected. However many Jews find the organization to be more anti-Semitic than good because movements against Israel typically become anti-Jews.
”I think that Obama wants to allow Iran to have a certain amount of nuclear power or weapons however certain political parties are against that because they are worried about the future of the United states, therefore Republicans wrote a letter to Iran telling them how a future president can veto what ever Obama puts in place.” said a teenager 15 years of age. My understanding of what is going on is that most people, (Republicans and Democrats) all fear the potential of Iran obtaining a nuclear weapon. My interpretation of the issue with congress was that it made America look a little weak and not unified front. Going behind the president like this is considered very taboo, but not illegal by any means. I think that President Obama and the Republican senators simply had different ideas on how to handle the issue at hand.
-”I know there is a rebellion in Syria and that it is pretty horrible and thousands of people are being killed. I know about the Iran nuclear program, tensions between U.S. and Israeli, terrorism in Lebanon, Israel Palestine conflict, Islamic factions fighting each other,and drone strikes that scare citizens” said a teenager, 16 years of age.Overall this response surprised me. I talked to several adults about the issue and many of them needed me to brief them on what was happening. What is going on in the middle east is complicated, and took me several weeks of research to compile this article, so for a sixteen year old, high school student to know this much information right off the top of his head really impressed me.