To the Editor:

Roger Cohen would have us believe that Israel, a democratic state whom Iran’s president has said must be eliminated, is guilty of “bellicosity.” (“From Tehran to Tel Aviv, March 22, 2009) Cohen credits Iran itself, however, with “essential pragmatism.”

Indeed, Iran has been extremely pragmatic and even-handed in its support for Israel’s terrorist enemies, providing crucial support to both Hamas and Hezbollah. Clearly Iran has shown itself able to see past such ideological differences and focus on underlying common values, such as a commitment to Israel’s destruction.

Without even acknowledging Iran’s support for anti-Israel terrorism, Cohen turns instead to what he concedes is Tehran’s “provocative rhetoric,” only long enough to dismiss Iranian propaganda as a mere cover for what he believes to be the regime’s moderate, forward-looking policies. Nor is he forthcoming about the implications of a Middle East in which a nuclear Iran would be a key destabilizing feature. Rather than contemplate the regional arms race that would inevitably result from Iran’s realization of its nuclear ambitions, Cohen seems more concerned about “reining in Israeli bellicosity.”

The generous trust that Cohen places in the Iranian regime, whose actions have largely matched its words, is undeserved. If only he could show similar latitude toward the embattled U.S. ally that Iran, in its “pragmatism”, has threatened with extinction.