IRAN BACK IN CONTEXT

by KAMBIZ ZARRABI

Overview

     The portrayal of Iran as the source of regional instability and a threat to America's ally, Israel, and potentially to the world, has been an essential element in the formulation of America's foreign policies in the Middle East for far too long. It is time to rethink this strategy.
     Iran has been rapidly developing its resources, strengths and international connections in the face of economic sanctions by the West, pursued and enforced entirely by the United States, and quite clearly on behest of Israeli interests.
     As an unintended consequence of this policy, Iran has been gaining not only the status of an Islamic superpower in the region, but an increasing global recognition, as well.
     My travel to Iran, my conversation with a broad spectrum of people, and my observations and experiences there, did not invoke the need in me to redress my views and analyses of the Iranian situation as reflected in the opus of my writings and addresses in the past two decades. If anything, I am now even more convinced that the United States is dealing with an Iran that is justifiably and increasingly considering itself the powerhouse of the Middle East.
     This has led me to conclude that America's true strategic and economic interests in the Middle East would best be served through a rapprochement with Iran and the acknowledgement of Iran's own regional and global strategic interests.
     If we still need an enemy or a potential source of threat to serve certain other agendas, Pakistan is ready to replace Iran as that bogeyman. And, I believe we are already heading in that direction.

Kam Zarrabi

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781465376015
Publisher:	Xlibris Corporation
Publication date:	10/14/2011
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

The year Kam Zarrabi was born, 1935, the official name of his country of origin was changed from Persia to Iran.

He received his college education at the University of California, Los Angeles, specializing in geology. His career, first as an exploration geophysicist and later as manager of exploration for various international subsidiaries and joint venture companies of Standard Oil Co. of Indiana, sent him from the oil field of California to Texas, New York, London and finally to the Persian Gulf.

Kam established his own consulting company, Geo Consulting Ltd. in 1968 and, shortly after, accepted the position of the Chief of the Bureau of Mines for the Iranian government.

In 1974, Kam started his own mining and manufacturing operations: Iran High Dense Co. producing specialized products for the oil well drilling companies, and later a barite mining and manufacturing operation in joint venture with the Halliburton Co.

Kam's professional career ended abruptly with the fall of the Iranian regime and the establishment of the Islamic Republic in 1979. He returned home and rejoined his family in Southern California, determined to take advantage of that pivotal sea change and pursue his true calling, research and studies in the field of humanities, and later, writing and conducting lectures and seminars at clubs and academic centers.

Kam taps into his experiences as an itinerant entrepreneur, government executive and CEO of international business ventures when addressing issues dealing with international politics and related conflicts, particularly with regard to the U.S./Iran relations.

His political philosophy could be summarized in a down-to-earth, pragmatic brief as follows:

Allusion to altruism set aside, honest pragmatism dictates that all nations pursue their own best interests on the global stage, even if at the expense of other nations' best interests. The duty of diplomats and politicians is to implement this pursuit and look good doing so at home and abroad. The only legitimate question that remains is whether America's policies toward the Middle East have truly served America's best interests. If we can honestly say yes, let's carry on with the good work. But, if the answer is no, we owe it to ourselves to find out why; where did we go wrong, and for whose cause have we been paying the price in American blood, money and reputation?

Kam Zarrabi has been featured on the cable and satellite channel, Free Speech TV, on numerous occasions, and was the chief political analyst for a satellite broadcasting company (for Europe and the Middle East) in 2005.