The National has a piece today by its Political Editor, Emile Hokayem where he compares North Korea and Iran. Although more nuanced then most commentaries on Iran, he still misses the point.
Regarding North Korea and the sinking of a South Korean naval vessel, he says:
“Indeed, the South Korean riposte has been measured despite popular anger. Seoul refrained from making any accusations before the results of an investigation that involved international experts were released. Once North Korean responsibility was established beyond doubt, Seoul consulted its neighbours and allies to design a diplomatic strategy. It referred the matter to the UN Security Council a few days ago and stepped up its defence co-operation with its top ally, the US.”
South Korea has no option but to be measured and not just because the North has nuclear capabilities. There is a bewildering amount of support for North Korea in the south, with many feeling the border is an artificial one and reunification is a matter of when not if. These are two countries with the same culture, language and ethnicity. While the South Korean government does not want the collapse of the northern regime (which would allow China to push southwards), the majority of the population do – but crucially many see this as an internal Korean affair, whatever Seoul says.
Hokayem considers: “This measured response is the sign of a confident and responsible nation that must consider the human, economic and strategic costs of any military confrontation.”
Enter Iran. “But the potential for an escalation in the Gulf waters is real. In 1988, the US mistakenly shot down a civilian airliner flying from Bandar Abbas to Dubai. In 2007, the Iranian Revolutionary Guards seized British sailors. In 2008, a man used naval radio frequencies to make US ships think they were about to come under arttack, raising US-Iran naval tensions.”
First of all Hokayem is either being ignorant or misleading by characterizing the shooting down of the Iran Air flight as a “mistake”. No one sat on a button by accident. Two heat-seeking missiles were fired at a civilian airliner killing 290 people. The embarrassing American cover up only added to the insult. Commander Scott Lustig of the USS Vincennes (which fired the missiles) was awarded the navy’s Commendation Medal for ‘heroic achievement’ and ‘ability to maintain poise and confidence under fire’. Yet Hokayem compares this episode to the Iranian seizure of British military personnel and a man who broke into US naval frequencies.
“These crises were resolved peacefully, but it is easy to imagine how they could have gone wrong. Just as South Korea is doing, the Gulf states must figure out how to manage such scenarios in tandem with the US instead of letting Washington be always at the forefront.”
In Hokayem’s world view, America’s presence in the Gulf should not be questioned. Iran is a “threat” and an “enemy” of America. Such simplistic analysis is disappointing given he is the National’s politics editor. His work for the Stimson Center betrays a similar bias against Iran.
Portraying the Iranians as the biggest threat to regional security is simplistic and misguided. The National’s pretensions at being the leading daily in the region would be better served without such an openly biased Political Editor.
