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| John Kerry and Iranian Foreign Minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif |
Last April, a tentative deal was agreed upon between the
United States and Iran that would lift sanctions against Iran in exchange for
their agreement to end their pursuit of nuclear weapons. But as Ross Perot once said, “The devil is in
the details”. And it seems those details are the ultimate stumbling block for
a successful conclusion of this deal.
I think it is fair to say that Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu’s address
to congress warning against a bad deal with Iran was correct. One can dispute his timing. But one cannot
dispute his message. The Iranians have no interest in curbing their military
quest for nuclear weapons. And a way to deliver them. That was made clear by
their undisputed Gadol Hador, Supreme Leader,
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. His word is law. He has declared that military
installations will not be subject to any inspection of nuclear facilities. Nor
will he give up any ballistic missile research and development.
That should be the deal breaker even for the President. If I had
to guess, it will be. There will be no deal. Iran will then continue to press
ahead towards developing nuclear weapons. Or will they?
A lot of supporters of the President’s desire to use diplomatic means have said that
we must try diplomacy for fear of an alternative that would mean attacking Iran
militarily and a lot of American bloodshed. That myth was dispelled by Prime
Minister Netanyahu when he declared the alternative to a deal is not war. The
alternative to a deal – is a better deal.
The interim agreement seemed to be just that. A bad deal - allowing
Iran to retain some of their centrifuges that enrich uranium to nuclear weapons
grade. But the President insisted that they would be monitored and any violation
would immediately snap sanctions into place. This deal would save lives and
would work. The inspections regime would be given access to all Nuclear
facilities to assure that uranium was not being enriched.
But it appears that this is now all moot. Iran will not budge, it appears, from
insisting their military facilities are off limits to inspection.
This is a good thing. That Iran also demands sanctions be
removed immediately as part of any deal tells us something. The sanctions placed
on them are crippling them. They are desperate to have them removed. It brought
them to the table with ‘The Great Satan’. The US and its allies want gradual sanctions
relief in order to allow time to put the inspections regime in place and see if
it works.
It appears now that they will not get their wish. The
sanctions will not be lifted. Hopefully they will be increased. Iran must be
brought to their knees before they get the bomb which they will now pursue with
renewed vigor. Not after.
If bringing them to their knees won’t stop them. and they
decide to go to war, we ought to be prepared to do what’s necessary to destroy
them. And install a secular government
that will be friendly to the west.
I know that it hasn’t worked in Iraq. But that is partially because
Iran is the biggest sponsor of terrorism in the world. Once Iran is defeated,
terrorists will have no where to look for help. Yemen won’t be getting any
support. Nor will Hamas, and Hezbollah be getting any more rockets.
I also happen to believe that the majority of Iranian people
crave the kind of democracy and freedom they see in the west. The kind their parents and grandparents experienced
before ‘the revolution’. But have been afraid express for fear of their
government’s extremist sanctions for
such ‘ungodly’ desires.
One may ask, “What about Islamic State (IS)?” They are doing
pretty good without Iran. Iran actually opposes them.
The answer to that is simple too. IS can be defeated if the
US has the will to do so. The United States has the most powerful military in
the world by far. They defeated Hitler’s killing machine with a lot less than
they have now. IS doesn’t have a chance of surviving if the US went in with
enough troops to do the job right. Despite IS’s current successes. The US can’t
do it from the air. By now that should be obvious. Unfortunately it is going
to take boots on the ground. We need to go in with everything we’ve got - short
of nuclear weapons.
Those who say that we shouldn’t be sending our boys in harm’s
way in a war 7000 miles away from the mainland to die for a cause that has no
bearing on our lives, are sadly mistaken. Islamic State’s activities do have bearing on us. One need look at all the European
countries that have been attacked by individuals and groups inspired by IS or
Al Quaida. One need look at the Americans that got caught in their web and beheaded.
On camera!
IS inspired terrorism is alive and well on the internet. And
for reasons that are beyond me, a lot of young people are becoming inspired and
radicalized by them in basements and bedrooms all over the world. Including
America. IS is a clear and present danger to the world. Unless we stop them, they
will pursue their goal of a worldwide caliphate with everything they have. That
they are succeeding is because those who can do something about it – aren’t.
The President is reluctant to send any American solider into
harm’s way. Which is as it should be.
But his reluctance is so strong that it appears to be hampering his judgment. If
something isn’t done about Islamic State, they will grow and continue to spread
their particular brand of terror all over the world.
President Theodore Roosevelt once said, ‘Speak softly and
carry a big stick!” The point of which was to exercise intelligent forethought
and decisive action in advance of any crisis. That was his rationale for
building up the US military. Which came in pretty handy during World War II. The
use of our military in that war made us the most powerful nation on earth to
this day.
It is time to use that power for good once again - just as
we did in World War II. Many Americans died fighting evil in a land far away from
the US shore. There were a lot of voices opposing our entry in to that war. But
President Roosevelt (FDR) didn’t listen to those voices. He knew the sacrifices
in human lives it would take. But he also knew it was the right thing to do. He
wanted to fight Hitler long before Pearl Harbor was attacked. But congress didn’t
let him. After Pearl Harbor - he got the mandate. And he used it to rid the
world of a mass murdering tyrant.
The US is in a similar position today. It is true that there
hasn’t yet been the kind of carnage that justified our entry World War II. We
are not even close to anything like the circumstances that led to that war and
the Holocaust. But we need to realize that if Iran had the ability they would
do the same thing to the 6 million Jews of Israel that Hitler did to the 6
million Jews of Europe.
This was made clear by their Supreme Leader’s public statements
to that effect. The only reason Iran hasn’t done it yet, is because they can’t.
Clearly they are working on it. And we ought to do something about it before
they do. Starting with bringing Iran to its knees with increased and even more crippling
sanctions... and be willing to fully exercise our option go to war with them if necessary.
