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Imagine that your neighborhood is overrun by a gang. These brutes are wielding crowbars, knives, and pistols in a frenzied spree of home break-ins and mugging and murder. Now suppose the police reveal that their grand strategy for dealing with this gang is to block them from getting submachine guns--as if without such weapons, the gang would no longer bother people.

Would you sleep soundly at night?

Or would you be outraged? Of course you would, because this gang--even without more powerful weapons--is already a serious menace that must be stopped.

Now, what would you say if this ridiculous what-if scenario resembled our actual response to the very real threat from Iran?

Ever since taking U.S. embassy staff hostage in 1979, the Islamist regime in Teheran has led an international spree of bombings, hijackings, and other terrorist attacks on Americans and Westerners. Now politicians and diplomats, who put up with Iranian aggression for years, are loudly promising to block Iran's pursuit of nuclear weapons.

On the campaign trail, for instance, the candidates debate how (i.e., with or without preconditions) they'd negotiate to dissuade Iran from pursuing a nuke--on the idea that without such a weapon in Iranian hands, everything will be hunky-dory.

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There's more: The 9/11 Commission found that "senior al Qaeda operatives and trainers traveled to Iran to receive training in explosives," and that "8 to 10 of the 14 Saudi 'muscle' operatives traveled into or out of Iran between October 2000 and February 2001." During the Afghanistan war, Iran welcomed fleeing al Qaeda and Taliban fighters. Today, according to the U.S. military, Iran is running training camps near Teheran for Iraqi insurgents, who return to Iraq to practice and train others in their bomb-making skills. There's also growing evidence that Iraqi insurgents get bomb technology from Iran.

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A rational assessment of Iran would have to recognize that the mullahs in Teheran have been conducting a proxy war against America. The inspiration for this war is Iran's jihadist goal of imposing Islamic totalitarianism globally. Iran is a leading sponsor of jihadists and the self-identified role model for exporting its Islamic revolution to other countries. It is the sworn enemy of the West. We should take seriously its call to bring "Death to America!"--because it has already done so.

But too many American diplomats and commentators refuse to judge Iran. Instead, they regard its past hostility as a string of disconnected crises, unrelated to Iran's ideological agenda. They avoid naming the nature of the regime and behave as if its acquisition of a nuclear weapon would be the decisive event. But that particular weapon--despite its power--cannot be the whole story, since we don't worry about other countries, such as France and Britain, having nukes. The rarely admitted difference is that the regime in Iran would eagerly press the launch button.

This fear-the-weapon-not-the-killer mentality refuses to understand the threat posed by Iran right now. This view holds that only the concrete facts about Iran's arsenal have any practical significance, while its abstract, ideological goals and character can be disregarded with impunity. But whether Iran uses one nuke, or attacks with more conventional weapons, its victims are still dead.

Our leaders' narrow concern with Iran's nuclear capability cannot make the regime's longstanding hostility to America go away. Americans should face the real character and conduct of the Iranian regime, before it is too late.

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Coaster said:

Iran only poses a threat because we threaten them
if we weren't bombing their brothers in iraq iran wouldn't harbor hate towards us
the Iranians are very understanding, they believe they have a right to give Iraq weapons b/c the iraqis are defending the roofs over their heads which has already been established globally that, that is an acceptable thing to do

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SolomonTheShaman said:

Coaster said:

Iran only poses a threat because we threaten them
if we weren't bombing their brothers in iraq iran wouldn't harbor hate towards us
the Iranians are very understanding, they believe they have a right to give Iraq weapons b/c the iraqis are defending the roofs over their heads which has already been established globally that, that is an acceptable thing to do

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I hate to call bullshit, but, Iran's president has publicly said that the holocaust DID NOT happen.  That doesn't sound very understanding to me.

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Daishi said:

Ex-fucking xactly. Iran is composed of nothing but superstitious, idiotic thugs. Now I have nothing against Arabs, as I am not racist. But the Muslim religion seems to be particularly anti-reason, anti-freedom,  anti-science and most of all anti-capitalist. And Iran has tried its best to make that backwards, caveman, moon worshiping religion into national law. Do you really feel safe living by that? That's like arguing that you can piggy back your way across the lake of fire without burning off your toes.

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two_rivers said:

does the prominent religion in this country seem much different? no..

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does the prominent religion in this country seem much different? no..

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DieCommie said:

Yea the religion is very much different.  No place in the world has a violent religion like Islam anymore.  They are the last ones to reform, but hey somebodies got to be the last.

Also, I had to LOL when coaster begged to american propaganda, but supported his statement with an american interview done for the american people.  Just who is being fed the lies then?

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