Tuesday, July 14, 2015

14-Jul-15: Pigs, chicks and diplomacy

Iran: Revolutionary Guard
We were tuned to BBC World Service during the past hour and found it hard to hear the excitement in the voice of the commentators and news reader speculating on what this morning's announcement of a deal between Iran and the P5+1 (US, UK, France, China, Russia plus Germany) means for the world.

There's going to be an avalanche of analysis now, of course. Deep divisions of viewpoint will be - already are - evident.

It's a moment that's encapsulated in the old business fable, a version of which says
In thinking about a breakfast of bacon and eggs, no one can deny the chicken is involved. But in truth it's only the pig that is fully engaged.
Here in Israel, where most people know from first-hand (or close to it) what it means to be at the receiving end of Iran's attentions and little evidence of people being chicken, it's difficult, at this point at least, to find anyone willing to show support for the excitement in Vienna. Here, we're fully engaged, and as far as we can tell, there is hardly a single mainstream voice speaking out in favour of this dangerous unsigned agreement.

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