'Western Warlords' Frustrated By Lula's Diplomatic Triumph
"Their imperialist arrogance
and genetically induced bellicosity has been undermined by the intervention of
a popular leftist leader of the third world. … The summit in Tehran violates
the interests of these hegemonic centers, which will do anything to resurrect the
nuclear standoff."
The first reaction of Western governments was
astonishment. The generalized bet of various leaders was that the proposed
mission of Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva would fail. And, they did so not just to discredit his formula - but because they saw the trouble it would cause them if Lula was able to negotiate away the tensions with Iran.
Tehran’s
signed commitment has exacerbated resistance and has been viewed suspiciously in
certain areas. England, France, the United States and Germany - with greater or
lesser degrees of energy - have chosen to question the effectiveness of the accord,
which recognizes the concrete establishment of new paradigms.
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Their
spokesmen use flimsy arguments. One is that Iran wouldn't be transferring its
entire uranium stockpile to Turkey, even though the International Atomic Energy
Agency has estimated that the neutralization of 1.2 tons of the ore would be
enough to nullify any atomic project of a military nature. In essence, the
terms of the agreement are the same as the proposal offered by the United
States, Russia and France eight months ago, under which Iran was to deliver about
70 percent of its uranium enriched beyond 5 percent purity.
The
leaders of these countries are showing signs of feeling doubly troubled. Not only because their imperialist arrogance and genetically induced bellicosity
has been undermined by the intervention of a popular leftist leader of the
third world, but also because they dislike losing the nuclear pretext of their
geopolitical strategy.
Just
as “weapons of mass destruction” were the passwords for the illegal occupation
of Iraq, the risk of developing The Bomb is code for weakening and defeating
the only focus of resistance to U.S. hegemony and Zionism in the Middle East.
The major capitalist nations aspire to control the oil in the
Persian Gulf and the sea route through the Strait of Hormuz, through which oil
travels to the West from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and other Arab countries.
The
warlords have been surprised by the capabilities of President Lula and his
openness to dialogue with Iran's leader. Up until last weekend they assumed
that, sooner or later, a puppet government would emerge in an Iran subjected to
economic suffering and military threats. The Brazilian leader disrupted those
plans by facilitating an environment of fair and sovereign negotiations.
But,
there should be no illusions. In the coming days, political leaders of the
major powers will do whatever they can to reduce the positive impact of the
Tehran agreement, discredit it and make it a failure. Although they fear this
might be exposed to the public, they cannot admit to the possibility that
solutions of this magnitude could be adopted without their knowledge. In this
endeavor, they will count on the support of a majority of the main channels of
communication.
The
intervention of President Lula, after all, is not only indicative of his talent
and charisma. It is a consequence of an autonomous foreign policy that seeks to
strengthen ties of all kinds between people and governments trapped by a unipolar order. A relationship of candor and trust with the
Iranians is a product of that effort.
Brazil President Lula, Iran President
Ahmadinejad and Turkish
Prime Minister Erdogan,
after reaching an agreement that calls
for Iran to ship some of its uranium to Turkey for reprocessing.
Other
leaders who share this view have also contributed their cooperation, such as
Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez, who pledged to eliminate the last vestige of resistance
to an agreement by Ahmadinejad. Even Turkey, a NATO member and close ally of
the United States, ended up joining the path proposed by Lula.
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However,
the formation of alliances outside the imperial orbit isn't of interest to
Washington and its subservient European associates. This shows an unacceptable
disregard for the tacit agreement to transition from post-Cold War
unilateralism to a mulitlateralism confined to the G8
nations. The summit in Tehran violates the interests of these hegemonic centers,
which will do anything to resurrect the nuclear standoff.
What's
at stake goes beyond the Iranian episode. It concerns the possibility of a
broad reconfiguration of the global landscape. The clash, which will be hard
and bloody, has just risen to a new level - and Brazil has helped give it voice
and turn the planet's attention southward.
*Breno Altman is a journalist and editorial director of the
site Opera Mundi.
