SEATTLE — Should the United States be concerned about Iran's determined efforts to reach out to Latin America or, as was suggestively described in the Economist, about the ayatollahs' strategy of cozying up to Latin America?
The U.S. continues to give itself and its allies, most notably Israel, the right to geopolitical maneuverability. Iran, on the other hand, is censured, derided and punished for even its own policies within its own borders. Thus an Iranian move into Latin America is naturally viewed as unwarranted, uncalled for and most definitely dangerous as far as the U.S. is concerned.
But Iran is not invading America geopolitical space, per se. It is neither financing a terrorist group nor involved in the narcotics war. More, there is no historical connection between an interventionist Iran and the bloody past of Latin America, including its former dictators and brutal juntas.