The world does not have to go to war with Iran. Indeed, it should take sides in a war which is already going on in that country.
The United States recently blacklisted Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, IRGC, and its extraterritorial branch, the Quds force, as agencies engaged in terrorism and weapons proliferation. According to Condoleezza Rice, many of the Iranian regime's most destabilizing policies in the region are carried out by the two.
The step marks the end to an era of futile diplomacy, taking at times the form of appeasement. A regime change policy rather a policy to change the behavior of the regime seems to be predominating now.
A prominent personality in the French Peace movement warned me: "They're going to a new war; there is a real danger of a war breaking out."
I had to correct him. The danger of war is real. It has been real for years. But not because of the recent US positions, nor because there was a predetermined decision for going to war on any western statesman's mind. On the contrary, the danger stems from a lack of international resolve to stand firm against Iran. The danger today is not talk of "war" on the theocracy ruling Iran, but the desire to stay in "peace" with it. The clerics in Iran have long declared war on the civilized world, and sitting idle, wishing for the best is hardly a solution.
242 marines perished in an explosion in Beirut in 1982. Later, Iran's Revolutionary Guards commander boasted of having exported to Lebanon the ideology, and the TNT needed for the explosion. The highest-ranking officials of this regime are sought by western justice in Europe, and elsewhere, on terror charges. The Interpol has recently issued "red notes" – status of the most wanted suspects – against a number of the regime's officials for their role in the 1994 bombing of the Jewish community building in Buenos Aires, where 85 lives were lost. Among those wanted by Argentina are former Iranian intelligence chief and Revolutionary Guards' chief.
More than 80,000 IEDs made in or by Iran have targeted American troops in Iraq during the past four-and-a-half years. Northern Israel is likely to come under attack by missiles provided by Iran. Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has said openly that he wants to wipe Israel from the world map, and to fill in the gap left by an eventual US withdrawal from the region.
The clerics' war against their own people back home is second to no other war: several thousand members of the opposition Moudjahidin-e Khalq (MEK) were massacred in prisons throughout the country in a matter of months, with those directly involved in the carnage still in power. Religious and ethnic minorities are oppressed brutally.
Having finished a devastating war in 1918, the world was too tired to think of a new war in 1936, when Hitler revealed his plans to expand his regime. The world might be fed up with the idea of a third regional conflict after Afghanistan and Iraq, but the clerics' need to expand their regime, in order to hold on to power, is as strong as Hitler's quest for more "lebensraum."
There is one party, however, that has already engaged in active conflict against the ruling regime: the Iranian people. In fact, they have never been at peace with the regime, which is why more than 250 people have been hanged in public in Iran this year. Student demonstrations are covering the country these days.
The world should stand beside those people. The world has to accept the challenge, but it may not have to fight a war. Instead, it should abandon the idea of peace with the clerics, and think about ways to help the Iranian people and their resistance in their plight for democracy. Wise sanctions are very effective, but the West should consider political steps as well.
Eager to normalize relations with the so-called "moderate" Iranian president Khatami in 1997, the Clinton administration listed the opposition MEK as a foreign terrorist organization. Apart from being the ones who blew the whistle on the clerics' secret nuclear project in 2002, the MEK has been the main victim of the regime's oppression and terrorism. Now that the henchmen are on the blacklist, their victims should be taken off. Pressure should be applied for relieving political prisoners in the clerics' prisons.
The world does not have to go to war with Iran. Indeed, it should take sides in a war which is already going on in that country. For a long time, eyes have been kept closed to that war. It is time to open them now. It is time to take side along the Iranian people.
A new version of presentation of the Mojahedin-e-Khalq group, but N. Abedian and probably also his friends in Foreign Affairs & National Defence have decided to overlook, or god forbids sensor, the history of terror attacks, promoting suicide bomb attack on the life of popularly elected president, prime minister and other respected religious leaders in Iran, since the first days of Iranian revolution in 1979, as this was not enough, Mojahedin-e-Khalq made an alliance and become the Militia and helped the enemy of Iran, and lately also the enemy of the United state, Sadam Hossein ??, the list goes on … and recently they proudly announced spying on Iran’s national pride, the Nuclear energy achievements and that for the pleasure of United States !!!!
I will not bet on these horses. They have no chance and are almost non existent in the mind of Iranian population as real poles shows. They probably have similar chance as the last crown prince Reza, and not more, that what I think !
I wanted to congratulate you on your impressive article. I believe that Iran would finally be free by Iranian people and the world would be much safer altogether.
The Iranian people inside and outside Iran will never forget those who stood by them in the darkest days of their history. I am sure that the Iranian people and their resistance would bring about a free and democratic Iran.
Excellent analysis of the Iran problem. The MEK has been the largest group to suffer under the Iranian regime, because they have throughout the years never budged from their desire for a free and democratic Iran. This is the desire of the Iranian people. The first comment indicates accusations that have regularly been banded about against the MEK, specifically relating to support for Saddam Hussein. As a lawyer who has conducted extensive research into these allegations, there is no shred of evidence to substantiate these claims and in fact evidence proves them wholly incorrect. Evidence clearly indicates that the MEK has never supported Saddam Hussein with the latest war on iraq one such indication, in which they clearly stated they would play no part. They stuck to their promise even after being bombed by the coalition in a shameful deal with Tehran, which can only be described as a war crime. Evidence also proves these accusations against the MEK to have been supplied to the world through a massive misinformation campaign funded and organised by Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security. Furthermore, to call Iran’s nuclear weapons programme Iran’s pride, indicates a distinct lack of understanding for the Iranian people’s situation or in fact maybe something more sinister. 70 percent of Iran’s population is under the poverty line and they see funds that should be provided for their desperate needs being pumped into a nuclear weapons programme they do not want
The MEK is a democratic organisation dedicated to bringing freedom and democracy to the long suffering people of Iran. The terror tag on this organisation was not only lacking any evidence, but in fact has laid the biggest obstacle in front of the Iranian people’s democratic aspirations. The Iranian people welcome the terror listing of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps, but this act does not overshadow the terror tag currently on Iran’s democratic opposition. The MEK must immediately be de-listed and allowed to oppose this regime. The Iranian people must be allowed to bring about the democratic change that they desire.
Masoud and Ebne-Moussa beside partnership have some thing else in common i.e. both have lost their memories !!!; Their photos with Sadam are still available in the web and the Iraqi Kurds who suffered the genocide of Mujahedin (or mercenaries for Sadam), are also alive !!
One key assertion made by the article – “More than 80,000 IEDs made in or by Iran have targeted American troops in Iraq during the past four-and-a-half years” – seems to be not merely unsubstantiated but highly inaccurate. I’m not aware of any serious contention that the vast bulk of IEDs used in Iraq are anything but homegrown. The suspicion against Iran centers on a particular type of IED – the “EFP”, or “Explosively Formed Penetrator”. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Explosively_formed_penetrator)
There has been speculation (and some evidence) that some EFPs have been supplied by Iran to Iraqi Shiites (note: not Sunnis, the group most opposed to the U.S…. and Shiite Iran), but there’s also plenty of evidence and support that even the majority of EFPs are homegrown: http://www.defensetech.org/archives/003285.html
If I’ve misunderstood the article or if others have more salient evidence, I’d appreciate hearing about it.