[Mb-civic] FW: Wishing-well Politics Prove that the Leader of Iran is Mad

[Golsorkhi]

------ Forwarded Message
From: Samii Shahla <shahla at thesamiis.com>
Date: Sun, 6 Nov 2005 11:09:40 -0500
Subject: Wishing-well Politics Prove that the Leader of Iran is Mad



Sunday, November 06, 2005

Wishing-well Politics Prove that the Leader of Iran is Mad


November 06, 2005 
Irish Independent 
Mark Dooley


There are two views currently circulating about Iran's new president,
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The first is that by calling for Israel's liquidation
and by defying the international community on the nuclear issue, he is
simply reaching out to his anti-American support-base. The second is that he
is mad. Let me tell you why I think the second view is correct.

A number of weeks ago, Ahmadinejad instructed his cabinet to write a letter
to a ninth-century Shia imam, Mahdi. Shiites hold that Mahdi will return at
the end of days to establish Islam as a global religion. Currently, they
believe he is hiding at the bottom of a well in the Iranian city ofIsfahan.

After signing the letter, Ahmadinejad's cabinet wondered how they might
deliver the letter to the imam Mahdi. The president ordered his minister for
culture to hand-deliver the letter by dropping it into the well. Once it was
delivered, Ahmadinejad announced that Mahdi sanctioned his presidential
power. 

So here we have the leader of an oil-rich theocracy with nuclear ambitions
sending letters to a 9th-Century imam in a well. Beneath the comedy,
however, there is a terrible truth. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad believes that he has
been divinely ordained to bring about the final drama in the struggle for
the world's soul. And it is that demented belief in his global significance
that makes the new president so dangerous.

That danger was in evidence again last Wednesday, when he stated that he had
no intention of ceasing to process uranium at the Isfahan nuclear plant. And
just so we got the message, he deployed another batch of uranium ore to the
installation. 

That was followed by the sacking of over half of Iran's international
ambassadors, including its envoy to Britain. These reformers are to be
replaced by Ahmadinejad's young hardliners.

And in a major act of political manoeuvring that sent shivers down the
spines of Iran's democrats, the president appointed a former colleague in
the revolutionary guards to the sensitive position of minister for oil. The
appointment caused dismay because the new minister has no experience of
government and is just as zealous as his president.

So what is to be done? Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is not simply a threat to Israel
and the US. His presidency is an affront to all civilised nations, which is
why the time for trying to reason with the man is over. But does that mean
military action? 

There are plenty who support military intervention in Iran. They include the
grandson of Ayatollah Khomeini, the architect of Iran's 1979 Islamic
revolution. Hussein Khomeini believes his grandfather created "the world's
worst dictatorship", and that the only way to end it "is to bring in the
American 82nd Airborne Division".

The military option must always be on the table when dealing with a rogue
state intent on destabilising an entire region. But, at this stage, it would
do little to help the Iranian pro-democracy movement. And that is because
they know that an armed intervention would galvanise support for
Ahmadinejad. 

Iran is not like Iraq. The reason Iraqis could not remove Saddam by
themselves is because the opposition was either in exile or in mass graves.
But in Iran there is a young, sophisticated, pro-democracy movement that has
millions of members. Andunlike their ill-fated Iraqi brethren, they have
established a strong base throughout the country.

That means that Iran has even greater potential to become a beacon for
democracy inside the Middle East than Iraq. So how can we help the Iranian
democrats remove their despised regime without playing directly into
Ahmadinejad's hands?

First, pressure should be applied at the United Nations for a package of
economic sanctions to be imposed. The mullahs dread such a blockade because
they know it would alienate the poor and uneducated who are their natural
supporters. 

And if that package includes sanctions on Iran's massive oil wealth, it
could crush their nuclear hopes.

Second, the international community must provide all the technical and
logistical assistance that the democrats require to start an uprising. For
some years now, everything has been in place inside Iran for such an
insurrection. The leaders of the pro-western movement are just waiting for
the signal from Washington and London.

Finally, it is imperative that the International Atomic Energy Agency be
given full access to Iran's nuclear sites before Israel opts to bomb them.
If anything will destroy the hopes of an entire generation of Iranians for
freedom, it will be a pre-emptive strike by Israel. And that is because it
will give Ahmadinejad the excuse he needs to trigger a war involving the
entireMiddle East. 

The election of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as president of Iran has brought us to a
point of no return in respect of his beautiful country. For 26 years we have
watched as the ayatollahs robbed their citizens of basic rights and
liberties. But now the children of the revolution have come of age and want
to reclaim their nation from madmen.

Backing them in whatever we can, and however they desire, is not only wise
politics. It is also a moral obligation.

---

URL: http://www.iranvajahan.net/cgi-bin/news.pl?l=en&y=2005&m=11&d=06&a=2 
 

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