Ambassador Mark Johnson on Iran, etc.13 Feb
Editor’s note:
Here are just some of the highlights from the keynote address presented by Ambassador Mark Johnson at our installation banquet. It was a very informative talk and these notes only scratch the surface.)
President Ronald Reagan once said that politics is the world’s second oldest profession. And it closely resembles the first one.
There were three main areas to Johnson’s address.
- There are problems that will likely unfold in the coming year.
- Other problems will likely unfold in the next five years.
- There are also immediate problems.
1. The first challenge is Russia regaining its former influence. President Vladimir Putin is a force to deal with. There is no such thing as a “former” KGB agent. The key is to see how Russia takes advantage of the United States’ attention on Afghanistan and Iraq.
Also, the two leading candidates to head the Ukraine are pro Russia.
Europe depends largely on the Russia for their energy needs. Russia cut off gas to them a year ago and they felt it. Russia wants to stay on top. (China has increasing energy needs too. They want Russia’s gas as well)
Russia will stick it to the USA where they can.
2. Energy problems will continue to plague us. The world consumes 40,000 gallons of gas per second. China puts 15,000 new cars on the road every day.
Energy independence is nonsense. Under President Carter, our dependence on foreign energy sources amounted to about 40% of our needs. Now we are up to 63% dependence. And there will probably be a large increase by 2030.
To keep up with the demand, we will need to build a new nuclear power plant every ten days.
(Side note: According to the US Dept of Energy, the last reactor built was the “River Bend” plant in Louisiana. Its construction began in March of 1977. The last plant to begin commercial operation is the “Watts Bar” plant in Tennessee, which came online in 1996.)
60% of the petroleum reserves are in the Middle East. 40% of that flows through the Persian Gulf.
Wind power is growing. Now at about ½ of 1 % of energy consumption and growing.
Coal will remain a dominate source.
It is interesting to note that the Cape Cod, Massachusetts wind power project that would have provided power to 400,000 homes was fought by Robert Kennedy Jr and supported by California Senator Diane Feinstein. Another wind project on the Mojave desert in south eastern California was fought by Senator Feinstein and backed by Robert Kennedy Jr.
3. Which now leads us to Iran.
Ambassador Johnson wanted to stress about how wonderful the Iranian people were during he and his wife’s recent six week tour of Iran, many of whom had a fondness for America. Stories were shared about positive experiences with the Iranian people like one who shared his bread with him on a subway.
Iran is a major player in Iraq and Afghanistan.
After the last election, many of the protesters were women.
Iran is close to having nuclear weapons.
Iran doesn’t consider themselves Arab. They do consider themselves as victims of foreign occupation.
Ambassador Johnson was last in Iran in 1979 just before the hostages were taken at the U.S. Embassy. Upon his return, he observed two main things. Iran is less religious than it was. Today’s Iran is more repressive than it was under the Shaw of Iran
The protest that started as an elections protest are now rejections of the current administration.
Nuclear Proliferation; Iran now has things in place that would be suited for weapons, not just its power supply. They find a need to have power over the other states in the region.
Iran’s response to us, “Talk to the hand.” They use Anti- Americanism as a form of power. They can’t be seen talking to us.
It was a very informative, address and intently listened to by all in attendance.
