Author, journalist, and social critic Christopher Hitchens never has a shortage of opinions.
During his address to a John Locke Foundation luncheon in Asheville today, Hitchens focused much of his attention on Iran. In particular, Hitchens set out a possible response from the Bush administration to the recent 18-page missive from the Iranian president:
There is the possibility — it seems to me — that our president, who has so far disdained a reply to this obviously insulting and crazy letter, a letter that barely mentions the main topics at hand … Nonetheless, we’re a superpower. We don’t have to worry about people condescending to us. It’s hardly in their power to do so.
We could reply, ‘Dear Mr. President, I’m sorry that I can’t reply to you as the leader of a Christian country because the United States is a secular republic. You do wrong to address me in religious terms. I have to represent all Americans, and I am sworn to uphold the Constitution. So enough with the “peace be upon Him” stuff.
But I do notice that we have much to discuss — that you say you want a peaceful energy program, with which we can help you. After all, we built most of your reactors or had them built. We know how they work. We could very easily, with our vast resources and expertise, guarantee you a clean and peaceful nuclear energy program. We just want to be absolutely sure that that’s all there is. We do claim the right to make sure of that, but we say in front of the whole world that once we’re assured on this point we can help you be nuclear.
Second, we have to tell you that our seismologists have given us the most grave report about the state of affairs of the earth’s crust in your territory — that you will soon face and have not prepared your people for. But we know your people are listening to this letter. We give it from the podium of the United Nations. We’re willing to help you with that.
We’re willing to try and get some of your buildings up to code. We’re willing to tell you what earthquake precautions look like. We’re willing to stockpile the material that will be needed for those that will be afflicted. And we need to get started on this now, because we don’t want to see a ruined and devasted Iran.
And we know — with pleasure — that you too have acknowledged that our foes have been evil and our fight against them has been a just one. And surely out of this a better relationship can be evolved.’
Hitchens says there’s no harm in trying this approach, demonstrating before the world that the United States is willing and able to make good on the promises. If Iran rejects the proposals and sends another “fanatical” letter — “an apocalyptic diatribe” — then American leaders could still take any action to deal with the Iranian threat.
