What's all the buzz? Well, besides the fact that America and parts of the rest of the world are feeling uneasy with Iran's fascination with nuclear energy and the production of uranium- a mere curiosity, they say, we are also a little befuddled. While we had our eyes so focused on Iraq and the ousting of Saddam Hussein from power, we forgot to keep watch to see who was coming in our peripheral vision. We would have seen Iran creeping into our blind spot and we would have quickly adjusted our mirrors. At least I hope that would have been the case.
Of course, I lost the scrap piece of note paper where I was jotting down all of my ideas....but my main finding was this: Iranians are much smarter than we think. Much of our discomfort and tension surrounding the United States' relationship with Iran is centered around bad communication and an inability to compromise and work out a deal. The U.S. needs to negotiate, while still getting the job done. Now, I'm not saying we need to back off and leave them alone, or sit and drink coffee and turn a blind eye. I'm just saying that we might need to play their way, in order to get anywhere.
From what I've read, (a significant percentage of my week's reading came from my aunt's copy of the June 1, 2009 Newsweek that I swiped for reading on the Metro commute into the capitol) the Iranians are amazing at bartering. Now I know first-hand that the Middle East is the hub of trade...in 2006 I studied in Amman, Jordan and I left the souq (marketplace) several times with more than I ever intended buying.
However, the kind of bartering I am speaking of one of perfection. Elite and premeditated, it is not trade out of necessity, but out of common interest. Therefore, the transaction does not require speed or any sort of deadline. Instead, it demands patience, intellect, understanding, rhetoric, and a uncanny level of insight of the other party. This is harder to come by, but must be what America and Obama strive for.
By Catherine Moore, camoore@bu.edu
