Jihadists read history and politics through the prism of their distinctive theological convictions, not through the lens of western assumptions about the progressive dynamic of history.” George Weigel – Faith, Reason, and the War against Jihadism
I have plenty of political opinions just like everybody else but I really do not want to delve into issues like this on a regular basis on this blog. But this issue, understanding the threat posed by Iran, is so important – please bear with me.
Here is what Iranian President Ahmadinejad (hereinafter, A-hole) said on Monday at a United Nations food summit, of all places:
I must announce that the Zionist regime (Israel)…is about to die and will soon be erased from the geographical scene. Today, the time for the fall of the satanic power of the United States has come and the countdown to the annihilation of the emperor of power and wealth has started. I tell you that with the unity and awareness of all the Islamic countries all the satanic powers will soon be destroyed.”
Gees, point taken, douche bag. Iran, with leaders like A-hole, is already a very serious threat and has the potential to be a threat unlike any western civilization has faced previously: apocalyptics with nuclear weapons. The last time we faced a serious nuclear threat was during the Cold War. But this situation is SO very different and deterrence strategies, in this case, will not work. Allow me to quote an example from George Weigel’s excellent book that highlights the key reason why:
In Iran, eleventh-grade textbooks teach that ‘in the coming era-ending war against the infidels, Muslims cannot lose: Either we all become free, or we will go to the greater freedom of martyrdom. Either we shall shake one another’s hand at the victory of Islam in the world, or all of us will turn to eternal life and martyrdom. In both cases, success and victory are ours’.”
You see, during the Cold War, fear of our mutually-assured destruction was a primary deterrent that held both countries at bay (i.e., the Soviet Union and the United States both knew that if one country bombed the other, both countries would be wiped off the map). The key point here is that A-hole and other jihadists are apocalyptics for whom “mutually-assured destruction is an inducement rather than a deterrent.” The jihadists prize martyrdom – they want the battle we never engaged in during the Cold War. And A-hole is doing everything he can to hasten the achievement of that goal.
The consensus opinion (more often proven to be incorrect than correct) is that Obama will be the next President of the United States. I don’t presume so. But, if he is elected, then before he makes arrangements for tea and crumpets with this psychotic despot from Iran, Obama ought to stop and seriously consider the nature of this complex problem and what it would mean if Iran were to acquire nuclear weapons. Thomas Sowell does a great job of summarizing Obama’s flawed position on Iran:
Senator Obama’s foreign policy seems to be somewhere between Rodney King’s ‘Can’t we just get along?’ and Alfred E. Neuman’s ‘What, me worry?’”
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