You’ve heard of Foreign Policy magazine, right? Respectable publication, lots of experts write for it, heads nod at what the experts say, impeccable sources, etc., etc. Take this article about how we shouldn’t be worried about Iran’s military. Because it’s a myth that the Iranian military is dangerous and that Iran has plans for hegemony over the Middle East.
Far from being a hegemonic power, able to domineer and subdue its regional rivals with impunity, Iran has a regional position that remains untenable, all while its regional rivals procure weapons systems that make themselves increasingly invulnerable.
Indeed, sober assessment shows that — both quantitatively and qualitatively — Iran’s regional rivals are well positioned not just to counter a “rising” Iran but to compete with it as well.
Wow, that sounds very informative. But wait, there’s more!
Quantitatively, Iran’s military expenditures have sunk far below those of its Gulf rivals. In 2014, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), more than 25 percent of Saudi government spending was devoted to beefing up its military assets — expenditures that totaled more than $80 billion. Along with the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which spent nearly $23 billion, the two Gulf Arab countries comprise well over half the $173 billion in military expenditures spent by all Middle Eastern countries that year.
Comparatively, Iran’s military expenditures failed to measure up. During 2014, Iran’s military spending was about $15 billion, which comprised about 9 percent of total military spending in the Middle East. That’s a mere fraction of Saudi military spending and about two-thirds of the UAE’s. The Gulf Cooperation Council states — Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE — outspend Iran on arms by a factor of 13.
I didn’t know that the Saudis are outspending the Iranians! Look at all I’ve learned. The Iranian army is nowhere near as dangerous as I thought it was!
But wait! You know what the magazine doesn’t tell you? That Trita Parsi, one of the authors, is a paid shill for NIAC, an organization that purports to be the voice of American Iranians and yet seems to have issues when American Iranians disagree with them (cf: fraudulence in intimidation lawsuit). Tyler Cullis, his co-author, is one of his employees at NIAC. The article is bought and paid for by the Iran lobby.
Funny that Parsi being president of NIAC doesn’t seem to be relevant to FP when he writes about the Iranian military in a respected foreign policy magazine. You wouldn’t get that kind of lack of transparency if the head of AIPAC wrote an opinion piece. But here, FP doesn’t think it’s worth mentioning that the author is the head of an Iranian lobby firm (which of course denies it’s an Iranian lobby firm).
By contrast, of course they included Michael Oren’s bio in his recent article about Obama and Israel.
Michael Oren, formerly Israel’s ambassador to the United States and now a member of Knesset, is the author of Ally: My Journey Across the American-Israeli Divide (Random House).
But they don’t tell you that Trita Parsi is the head of NIAC. Go figure. And he says we don’t need to worry about Iran’s hegemonic tendencies.
Never mind that Iran is now in Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, and Yemen. Their militray is a paper tiger. The president of the National Iranian American Council says so. Oh, wait. I’m sorry, it’s just Trita Parsi, anonymous writer for Foreign Policy magazine.
A lot of people disagree with the Iranian shill, including the Saudis. But don’t worry. Be happy. Iran is going to get $150 billion released, and Obama is pretty darned sure they’re not going to use it for terrorism or the army or things like that. Because Iran is at heart a peaceful, rational country. Those chants of “Death to America“? Burning U.S. flags, stomping on Obama’s face? Well, they don’t really mean it.
Just like they don’t mean it when they say they’re going to destroy Israel. Chanting “Death to Israel?” MILLIONS of them? Putting out a video game that allows you to send missiles into Israel? Don’t worry, they don’t mean it–wait, they do.
The Trita Parsis of this world are liars. They are covering for a hegemonic regime that hates Israel and the West. Nothing good will come of the Obama nuclear negotiations. Nothing. Don’t believe their spin. The Iranian army is a threat to more than just Iran’s immediate neighbors.
Don’t believe what you read in so-called respectable magazines until you do some research about who’s writing the articles. And don’t forget, FP hired the odious Stephen Walt, co-author of the execrable “Israel Lobby” book. That tells you all you need to know about FP.
