First off, I want to thank Ryan Ray for holding down the fort here at the Florida Squeeze this past week while I have been traveling abroad. Ryan is also working on a number of new features for the site which will launch soon.  We will also have a lengthy article on Bill Nelson’s plans shortly. I currently find myself in South India and am visiting both Chennai a bustling metropolis of over ten million people and Kochi one of the prettiest cities in the subcontinent. The news here has largely been consumed by the retirement of the great Sachin Tebduikar from Cricket as well as British Prime Minister David Cameron’s visit to neighboring Sri Lanka where the Sinhalese Buddhist majority government has been accused of countless human rights violations against the minority religious and ethnic communities. But Iran has also been in the news locally.

The view in India is that President Obama and Secretary Kerry are on the breakthrough of a major diplomatic coup that could ensure increased stability in Central and South Asia. Locals are hopeful of a deal as it will positively impact Indian economic and security interests. .  I share this view and believe despite the objections of France’s Socialist President Francois Hollande a deal should be made.  Secretary Kerry has demonstrated great skill in his first 10 months on the job when it comes to diplomacy, outside of the largely botched Syria discussion.

With the continued problem of Islamic fueled terrorism in India, Iran has been surprisingly helpful to the Indian Government. Terror attacks in India have been frequent since 9/11 the most prominent ones being the bombing of the Parliament in December 2001, the coordinated multi train bombings of the Mumbai Suburban Railway at rush hour in July 2006 and the bombing of Taj Hotel in Mumbai in November 2008. In almost every case, extremists linked to Sunni regimes or Sunni terror networks were responsible.

My views on the Iranian regime differ from many on the left in the United States. I find Islamic fundamentalism to be a major threat to liberalism and secularism across the globe and feel the United States and western powers must do everything possible to mitigate this threat. However, my extensive study of the issue leads me to believe the proliferation of anti-western, anti-Christian, and anti-Hindu/Buddhist Islamic terror has less to do with Iran and its allies including Bashar Assad’s Syria but its enemies in the region such as the oppressive Saudi regime.  (I am not saying they do not sponsor terrorism but not to the extent other states do- still they are an exporter of terror and must be treated as such, but the application of this should be consistent) It is worth noting that in the period after 9/11 Iran was far more cooperative with American intelligence agencies than the Saudis were and had been strongly opposed to the Saudi sponsored Taliban theocracy in Afghanistan who were Osama Bin Laden’s protectors.  Iran also provided intelligence about Iraq prior to the infamous George W. Bush “Axis of Evil” speech which unwisely linked Iran with Saddam Hussien’s Iraq even though the two nations had fought a bloody war and were far from allies.

Moreover, the track record of foreign guest workers who are non-Muslim being exploited and oppression toward women is far greater in the Sunni nations under the spell of Saudi Arabia and the Gulf States than in Iran or Syria (On this particular subject I will have a more detailed post as my visit roles on). The west and secular democracies everywhere should be putting pressure on the Saudis to change and to stop exporting radical Islam and various degrees of jihadist thoughts around not only the Middle East but into South Asia, Western Europe and even the United States. Yet it seems the march to war with Iran would disproportionately benefit the Saudis and their influence over the Muslim world. It is important from a balance of power standpoint to maintain Iranian strength vis a vis the Saudi threat. Iran is also a critical cog in providing energy to South Asia and China, energy that helps indirectly fuel the US economy, so crippling Iran and further isolating them could impact the global economy in a profoundly negative way.

Israel has traditionally been a liberal and progressive state, a model for governance in a volatile region. Israeli citizens have far greater and equitable access to affordable health care and social services than their American counterparts, something we should live in envy of. Israel is a state we all support. However the current radicalized Israeli Government wants to create a battle with Iran, for its own reasons. While Israel’s security is a western priority there are other competing interests that mean isolating and scrutinizing Iran is a mistake.  President Obama has wisely rejected the pressure from American neo-conservatives, the Saudis and the current Israeli government and has recently entered into a dialogue with Iran.

One caveat on Iran however must be made. The growing closeness of mullahs in Tehran to Russia’s rogue anti-western government under Vladamir Putin must be closely monitored,. It is however better to engage with Iran on this matter and others to try and wean them away from Putin rather than to push them further towards Russia. The current threat to western influence to promote liberal ideals presented by Russia cannot be understated. Unlike the Cold War era when Soviet Russia promoted an ideology based on egalitarianism (even though in practice it was anything but this) today’s Putin led Russia has become a magnet for rogue anti-Americanism and right-wing values across the globe. Isolating and defeating Russia must be a priority for the United States.

A potential deal with Iran buys the US and west time to strip down a nuclear program which is near completion. It also allows us to pivot further away from the pro-Saudi policies in the Middle East that have characterized American policy through the years. President Obama began the process of moving away from Saudi manipulated Middle East/Central Asian diplomacy by rejecting the demands of Riyadh to intervene in Syria’s Civil War. Now the President can further create American foreign policy pragmatism and independence by making a deal with Iran. It is good policy and good politics for the President.