Reason and Iran
Let’s retreat for a moment back into the land of pure reason and common sense. Let’s move away from the strictures of ideology, passion and utopian yearnings. Let’s use common sense and the mind, free of emotion, to examine a current and volatile situation.
Assume that you are a citizen of the USA. You believe in the essential goodness of your country. Your country has never used its military strength to extend its orders and possessions by land invasions. In fact, it has used its blood and treasure to prevent physical and ideologic aggressions. At the end of WWII, the USA was instrumental in defeating the now ruined NAZI and Japanese empires. We had the bomb. Europe and Japan were in shambles. We could have taken whatever we wanted. The only land we took was a small piece of soil in Normandy, France. Here lie Americans, silent and dead, killed in the DDay invasion of the Normandy beaches.
We have alliances. They are designed to prevent aggression - physical, financial and ideological – by foreign powers. They are also designed to protect our status as both a free and powerful country. We choose not to become one among many, a coequal country subscribing to a remote world order ruled by a supposed intellectual elite. One of our strongest alliances is with Isreal.
Isreal is a tiny piece of land on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean. It was deeded to the Jewish people by the United Nations in 1948. Ever since that time it has been surrounded by Muslim countries intent on destroying this tiny state. For seventy-eight years Israel has been subject to invasions, terror attacks and rocket bombings. It has used its military power to bomb and eliminate sources of these attacks. It has nuclear weapons and the ability to deliver them but has never used them as a threat. In an attempt at peace with its Muslim neighbors, Israel has given a portion of its land to the Palestinians – Gaza and the West Bank.
Forty-seven years ago, the Muslim state of Iran had a revolution. They threw out the western oriented Shah of Iran and brought in a hard-line Muslim cleric – Ruhollah Khomeini, the Ayatollah. Ever since then Iran has been an anti-western theocracy. They preach the destruction of Israel and the evil Satan, the USA. They have been the principal financial source of terrorism in Israel and western countries. For years a primary Iranian goal has been hegemony in the near east and the development of nuclear bombs. They have been developing offensive nuclear missile delivery capability. Iran presents a clear threat to Israel and, eventually, to the USA.
So, here we are. You can argue about the justification of the Palestinian cause and the state of Israel. You can argue about Iran’s financing of terrorism and hegemony goals. You can argue about the extent of USA support of Israel. You can argue about Trump’s tactics in the current conflict. But here is one thing you cannot argue. For forty-seven years Iran has been a supporter of terrorism, an outspoken and real threat to Israel, a threat to the independence of the near east, and eventually a threat to the USA. And, most frightening of all, Iran was weeks away from having nuclear bombs and the ability to deliver them.
What would you do if a professed, powerful and vocal enemy of your country and your ally continued to rain in bombs, supported random acts of terror, and was close to offensive nuclear bomb capability? In the western tradition you would first use diplomacy to ease or eliminate the threat. For forty-seven years this has been tried by all of our presidents with absolutely no effect. You cannot deal with someone who has no common basis of understanding – the value of human life, the sanctity of borders, freedom of religion, the prohibition of lying and cheating, the agreement that the end does not justify the means. In the absence of any common basis of understanding, the only tool left is force. Unfortunately, after forty-seen year of futility, our president realizes the truth – and he is using force.