It is common knowledge that Iran has a defense budget less than the cost of one U.S. aircraft carrier. It is also common knowledge that Iran has not invaded a country or started a war in over 200 years. Al Qaeda, ISIS, Osama Bin Laden, the Taliban … are Sunni Muslims and have deep and well established, publicly known links with Saudi Arabia’s Wahabist ruling regime – and could not be further religiously, culturally, linguistically than Iran’s Shia clerics.

The U.S. has ‘stolen’ Iran’s democracy at least twice in the past 50 years. The world knows about Mossadegh and Operation Ajax in 1953, but a lot less is known about how the west stole Iran’s revolution, toppled the Shah and put Khomeini in power. Khomeini was, after all, Carter’s bitch.

Here we are, 40 plus years later, and Trump has banned Iranians from traveling to the U.S., has walked out of the nuclear deal with Iran, and increased sanctions on Iran (and Iranians); and now we have the U.S. threatening Iran with war!

Iran’s economy is miniscule. Less than the State of Maryland in the U.S. Iran is of no economic consequence to the U.S.

The U.S. funded Saddam Hussein, as did the Saudi’s, Kuwaiti’s, Emirati’s in its war with Iran. Remember, he invaded Iran. Iran fought back. Yes, the U.S. and Israel sold arms illicitly to Iran, but the official U.S. position was to support Saddam Hussein. He even used chemical weapons – supplied by the West against Iran!

Iran, and Iranians, my friends has been at the short end of the stick for 40 years. Sanctioned, abused, attacked, bombed, isolated, and ruined by systematic U.S. government policies. And why?

On a relative basis, U.S. has seen more harm from Saudi Arabia or Israel – its staunch allies. It was after all a bunch of Saudi Royal funded terrorists who hit the World Trade Center Towers and the Pentagon. It was Netanyahu who pushed the US to spend Trillions of dollars on invading Iraq and to fight Israel’s wars.

But Iran big crime? Oh, taking hostages some 40 years ago – at the behest of Reagan’s campaign staff (to humiliate Carter). Iran, it seems is being punished for taking orders from Republican party operatives.

Its never a crime for the U.S. to sell war planes and bombs to the Saudis for use against Yemen’s civilians, but when people like the Yemen’s Houthis buy Iranian weapons to fight back – its Iran’s fault or crime. I am sorry, I do not understand why the Saudis are bombing Yemen. Its still a mystery to me. Houthis have historically kept to themselves in the mountains. I don’t understand why Saudi Arabia picked a fight with them. And why the U.S. is supporting them. Why pick fights?

Iran used to be a staunch U.S. ally. Iranians were the most pro-American nation in the region. And the U.S. has systematically alienated Iran and Iranians. It just doesn’t make sense.

To this day, I do not understand what Iranians ever did to Americans. The U.S. put the Mullahs in power to oppress Iranians and is then sanctioning the Mullahs to make Iranians poorer and miserable. And why?

There is a massive region around Iran, where Iran has deep historical, cultural and economic roots. Persian is spoken by over 150 million people in Central Asia. And Shia Islam claims 200 million followers.

Why is the U.S. picking an endless war with Iran and Iranians? I mean what have they done?

Why can’t the U.S. just put a circle around Iran and Iranians and simply leave them alone?

Okay, I get it, by making Iran a bogie man they have sold billions of dollars of arms! Okay so there is money to be made. And by sanctioning Iran, they have confined Iran and been able to reduce its oil and gas sales (for which the West has no franchise), and at the same time control the price of fossil fuels. Containing Iran has paid dividends. I get it.

But, look at all the lost opportunity? Central Asia could have been a great market for U.S. products and services. GE turbines, Boeing planes, US chemical plants, Computers, US financial services, etc. So, you don’t make it on the oil, but you then make it on other (higher margin, higher tech) products. Trillions of lost revenues.

And then consider that now, both China and Russia have cornered this market and the anti-US sentiment. China is now dominant in a part of the world, the U.S. has systematically undermined and alienated. But why?

Again, what have Iranians done? What did Shia Muslims do?

The U.S. is listening to the wrong people. Yes, the Saudis fear them because they are an oppressive and Shia in their country sit on all their oil. So, they feel like they must attack Iran, to keep themselves in power. (This by the way is the exact opposite of what they should be doing, better to trade with Iran, than to antagonize Iran and their own populations). And they keep fearmongering the U.S. to do their bidding. But this is NOT an issue the U.S. should be concerned about. The Bahrainis are doing the same. A minority Sunni family is ruling over a majority Shia nation. All the Arabs on the South side of the Persian Gulf are scared – and they are whispering in Trump’s ear. U.S. should be telling them to engage Iran instead of further polarizing the situation. War and hate will not serve anyone’s interests.

Iranians can not change the demographics in Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Iraq or UAE. To blame Iran or Iranians for popular rebellion against the oppression of the ruling monarchs or dictators in these countries is ridiculous. And for the U.S. to support these dictators, stands against every single principle America stands for. Again, Iranians are not to blame.

And to blame Iran, for the demographics in Lebanon – and Hezbollah, is silly really. Hezbollah should not be repressed for the benefit of Israel. They, like anyone else, have every right to protect the sovereignty of Lebanon. Yes, the Israelis fear them, and ‘lost out’ to them when they invaded Lebanon. You can’t blame them for fighting back. Again, Israel is whispering is whispering in Trump’s ear – for what, Hezbollah fighting back? Remember it was Israel that invaded Lebanon.

This obsession the U.S. has against Iran, Iranians and the Shia is mis-placed. It has no sound foundation. Iran and Iranians do not represent a threat. The real threat is from America’s idiotic allies. The U.S. has no business in the region. Really! We have no national interest in the region. U.S. produces all the oil and gas it needs. And these are not important markets.

U.S. needs to draw a line around Iran, and just leave Iran, Iranians and Shia alone. Let the Saudi Arabians, and Israelis do their own bidding. U.S. blood and treasure does not need to be engaged for their benefit. U.S. has no national interest here. In fact, our interests are best served by opening Central Asian markets and having Iran provide regional stability. Even though I do not like the Mullahs, they have enough influence and competence to manage a large set of regional actors. They, after all, have been surprisingly effective with very limited resources organizing many political factions in Iraq, Syria and Lebanon. This itself is evidence that if the U.S. normalized with Iran, that perhaps it could be a real asset for the U.S. It could do America’s bidding. It has been 40 years of systematic idiocy in Washington. From putting Khomeini in power, to supporting Saddam Hussein, to invading Iraq … one mistake after the other.

What will it take to make a big change in U.S. idiocy? The U.S. needs to stand on the right side of history. Anything else will lead to a huge shift in U.S. position globally – politically and economically. This will not be good for Americans!