Unrest in the Middle East: Deal Close to Being Done

     Through all of the conflict and unrest in the Middle East, a positive seems to be forming. According to an article by CNN, Iran and the US seem to be nearing a deal that would prevent Iran's nuclear program "from advancing, and roll it back". This deal would help some of the unease felt by the United States and strengthen their relationship with Iran. The deal, proposed by the group P5+1, would extend the breakout time required to achieve a nuclear weapon as well as shorten the time to notice if they tried. The P5+1 consists of the United States, along with the four other permanent members of the U.N. Security Council and Germany.
     A major bright spot came after a report released by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) stated that Iran had slowed the advance of its nuclear production for the first time in years.The IAEA report shows that in the past three months Iran added four old-style IR-1 centrifuges for enriching uranium, after previously installing roughly 1,800 in the previous three-month reporting period.The changes have come during the first three months of President Hassan Rouhani's time in office. He vowed to resolve Iran's nuclear dispute in order to ease sanctions that have crippled Iran's economy. The steps that he has taken, while small, are a sign of goodwill to the P5+1 that they are willing to make concessions. 

Iran's heavy water nuclear facility near the central city of Arak is backdropped by mountains January 15, 2011.

     These developments came only days after President Obama disagreed with congress' idea to increase sanctions on Iran to force them to agree with the deal. According to one article, the increased sanctions proposed by Congress are spurred on by the pro-Israel lobby, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu himself, as they have never had a friendly relationship with Iran. The showing of goodwill helps begin to establish trust that is essential for this deal to be successful. While increased sanctions may have caused Iran to agree to the deal, I think that a deal made with both parties mutually agreeing will be more successful than a deal that one of the parties is forced in to.
     With the instability in the region at the moment in the form of Syria, a swift agreement would be ideal. I believe that an amount of trust needs to be established between the two parties. “I don’t trust the people who sit across the table from me in these negotiations,” says Wendy Sherman, the diplomat leading the American delegation at the talks in Geneva. To get any deal agreed on, the two parties need to put aside some of the suspicions that have formed over 34 years of icy relations, and have an honest and open discussion. I will leave you with a quote by Winston Churchill, “Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak; courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen.”

Mind of a Soldier

    This week in English we read the graphic novel War is Boring by David Axe. Throughout the entire book the author keeps talking about how boring war was: but continued to go to war zone after war zone. He justified it by saying that peace was more boring. While I may not know firsthand about war, I know many people that have experienced it, and that makes me believe his reasoning for going to conflict is not the consensus.
    Some people may think that soldiers have no choice but to go to war zones, but that is not true. One may not choose when or where they are deployed, but when they sign up for service they are making the commitment to go where they are needed. In the movie Black Hawk Down there is a very deep conversation at the end. SFC Norm "Hoot" Gibson says, "When I go home people'll ask me, 'Hey Hoot, why do you do it man? What, you some kinda war junkie?' You know what I'll say? I won't say a goddamn word. Why? They won't understand. They won't understand why we do it. They won't understand that it's about the men next to you, and that's it. That's all it is". That quote is especially meaningful to me because two of my best friends from back home went in to the Army and Marines last year. When I asked one of them why
he said, "I want to make a difference. I do not want to look back five years from now and wonder if I have done anything meaningful".
    At the end of War is Boring Axe goes to Chad after a long stay at home. Before this moment in the story, he went to increasingly more dangerous war zones just for the rush, just to get away from the bore of peace. In this situation, however, he is questioned by his family about why he is leaving again and he says, "Because Chad matters". I think that shows the evolution of him in the story from an adrenaline junkie to someone who starts to care more about other people. I believe this goes more along the mindset of most soldiers, as very rarely do they join because they are adrenaline junkies. From my experience talking to people in my family about their time in combat, I have come up with the conclusion that through all the turmoil, they have stayed strong by believing that they are making a difference.
    Nobody goes in to the war looking to be a hero. That is a quick way to get killed. In another scene from Black Hawk Down, Eversmann talks about a conversation he had with a friend before he left: "He asked me 'Why are you going to fight somebody else's war? What, do you think you're heroes?' I didn't know what to say at the time, but if he'd ask me again I'd say no. I'd say there's not way in hell. Nobody asks to be a hero… It just sometimes turns out that way". This shows that no soldier looks to be a hero, none go to war just for the fame or the spotlight, but the actions that become commonplace in combat are sometimes considered heroic.

    It takes a special kind of person to make it in war zone after war zone, both physically and mentally. War is Boring shows the evolution of Axe from someone who needs the rush, to someone who wants to make a difference. That is one of the traits that makes a good soldier, being selfless. The ability to go risk your life day after day, just for the hope that you make a difference is the choice made by the soldiers who defend our country.