Job Discussion Forums

[jw72]

Hello, all! What's the word on the street in your respective countries regarding a possible war with Iran? Are Americans becoming more unpopular? If a war starts, will English teachers become a target? Are the Shiite populations where you are becoming more angry?

Thanks,
John

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[Bindair Dundat]

[younggeorge]

Well put, BD.

Surely no-one really believes there's going to be a war with Iran? Some unpleasantness, yes, but no invasion, no bombs - even GW isnt that dumb. Is he?

[angrysoba]

[younggeorge]

Of course English teachers can get caught up in any violence that goes on - as BD said, how can people know who's a teacher or, for that matter, who's American? But it's worth noting that, in the UAE at least, fears of anti-Westerner violence at the times of the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq didn't materialise. There seems to be a general understanding that individual Americans and Brits are not responsible for the actions of their governments.

[Cleopatra]

Let me start by saying that I am pretty certain there won't be an invasion of Iran in the near-future. The (neo-con) will is certainly there, but the means are not, thanks in no small part to the colossal failure that the invasion of Iraq has been.

Anyway, were such a war to happen, there is no doubt that it would stir up (even) more anger among Muslims the world over, whether they be Sunnis or Shiites. Such anger might well take violent form, though exactly what form it would take is impossible to predict.

Regarding teachers as possible targets, even when the attacks on expats in KSA were at their height in around 2003, teachers were never specifically targetted. Nor were they specifically spared, of course, as many such attacks were quite indiscriminate, eg. the bombings of compounds housing both Saudis and "Westerners". I also agree with george that the vast majroity of people here make a clear distinction between the citizens of countries like the US and Britain on hte one hand, and the policies of their governments on the other. While the latter are widely reviled, the former are generally quite liked.

[Bindair Dundat]

[Bindair Dundat]

[running dog]

A couple of points
a.What ever the threat to Westerners (efl instructors or other), I wouldn't give much for the chances of anyone currently involved in Iran's uranium enrichment project. Get out while you can, guys! While it's a no-brainer to state the U.S is highly unlikely to attempt a further invasion in the ME, Israeli intelligence and military have been preparing for the current situation for decades. And while it would certainly be more difficult to destroy Iran's bomb-making capacity than was the case in the 80s when Israel bombed Iraqi nuclear sites, it certainly wouldn't be impossible. On the contrary, it's certain. Think Cuban missile crisis. The Israelis just aren't going to let a hostile regional power go nuclear.
b. Can anyone - preferably someone on the ground in Iran - explain what Ahmadinejad thinks he's up to? Is the bluster and sabre-rattling simply for domestic consumption? A latter day version of Krushchev's "we'll bury all of you"? Go figure.
C. Bush's stupidity. Okay, granted. But he's surrounded, certainly in part, by people who are about as far from being morons as it's possible to be, who know exactly what they're doing and why. Underestimating them is about as dangerous as it gets.
Not exactly standard tefl stuff for this site but since someone else brought up the topic in the first place it's as well discussed here as anywhere else.

[Bindair Dundat]