While imprisoned in the cardiac ward, I had many family members and friends stop by to wish me a speedy recovery and to help pass the time. One of these friends was a fellow engineer I worked with. Imran is from Pakistan and is a devout Muslim. He is also a cherished friend who genuinely cares about others. Indeed, as I sat there in the hospital bed, complaining of the lack of privacy, annoying nurses just trying to do their jobs, and the horrific food, he smiled and said that he couldn’t help with all of that, but he would see what he could do. I laughed and didn’t think any more about it until about an hour later when he came back into my hospital cell… ummm… room, with a bag from Marie Callendar’s with what at that time seemed like the best meal I have ever had. That is just the kind of friend Imran is – always looking for ways to express kindness towards others.
I have also had the privilege of befriending other folks who happened to be Muslim in my travels throughout the Middle East. Indeed, my friend, Waiel, dropped everything to help when my grown daughter took a wrong trail and ended way out in the desert near Petra and outside of cell coverage. Needless to say, I was very grateful to him as he found our daughter and her friend.
Unlike the thinking of some ignorant people, just because someone is a Muslim, does not make him or her a bad or evil person, let alone a terrorist. That could be said of most groups or categorizations of people. There will always be detractors in even the best intentioned of organizations. That said, there are sadly many devotees of Islam that take the Quran’s Suras to conquer, convert, or kill those that are not Muslim as a holy obligation.
When it comes to the current recently enjoined war with the terrorist regime in Iran, we are dealing with a government composed of the IRGC, extremist mullahs, and other such personnel that see jihad or holy war against the West, particularly the Great Satan of American and the lesser Satan of Israel, as a sacred obligation. It is only by bringing chaos, war, and death to America as per their chants of the same over the last fifty years, that they hope to bring about a world-wide apocalypse and the return of the twelfth Imam, who is a messianic figure to many in the Shiite Islam sect that is governing Iran. They are honor-bound to convert, enslave, or kill all Kafir (infidels).
Now this may seem ludicrous to us in the West, but that is precisely part of the problem. We are looking at this situation through a western mindset. We are not looking at it from our enemy’s mindset. It does not matter what we believe. It only matters that the Iranian terrorists governing this amazing country believe this – to the death. Further, death for them in jihad as a martyr guarantees them a place in paradise with Allah. They do not fear death and revere life as we do in the west. To negotiate with them with the assumption that they do is foolish in the extreme.
America and Israel have already eliminated the top tiers of the regime’s leadership, their air force, navy, missiles and means of production, and most of their command-and-control functions, and yet they still insist that they will have a nuclear bomb and are not willing to negotiate that away. Why would this regime need a nuclear weapon STILL after all the carnage and decimation suffered? Logic would dictate that it is only because they have every intention of using it against America and Israel. Left to their own devices, they will do so. This is not even a question.
Obama and Biden’s ridiculous “negotiations” and JCPOA treaty while providing $1.7 billion in dollars to the largest state sponsor of terrorism was abjectly foolish at best and borderline treasonous at worst. They either foolishly believed in the veracity of the regime in their negotiations, despite their NEVER having lived up to any past agreements, or they simply did what was most politically expedient.
The term “taqiyya” is the Islamic tactic of lies, deceit, and full-blown disinformation campaigns, specifically prescribed in the Quran and by generations of Islamic clerics as the preferred means of gaining the upper hand over an enemy, particularly in war. Iran has considered themselves at war with us since the overthrow of the Shah of Iran 47 years ago. They have no scruples in lying to us in negotiations to prolong the ceasefire and procure other strategic advantages. This is what they did with Obama and the JCPOA. They continued to enrich uranium despite vowing not to do so past certain limits. Obama evidently did not care.
Now, I understand President Trump wanting to eliminate all options before re-engaging in war. That is part of just war doctrine. War has to be used as a final resort when all other paths have been eliminated, and only used in the service of a greater good, such as protecting innocent lives in the west and freeing the subjugated innocent Iranian citizens under the regime’s cruel governance.
That said, negotiations with this ghoulish and evil regime are pointless and fruitless. Unlike the rantings of many ignorant Americans, this was not a “war of choice” but an existential threat to our ally Israel, a nation the size of New Jersey, and to America itself. If we had not intervened, Iran would have shortly possessed a nuclear weapon and the holy obligation to use it. Unlike nations of the west, they could not be bargained with. This would be a tool that would be used to fulfill their twisted version of Islamic prophecy. Iran was already at war with America. We finally, after nearly half a century of the killing of our people, responded to this provocation of war.
At this point, the Islamic terrorist regime governing Iran cannot be negotiated with to form a lasting peace. Even if they proclaim otherwise, it is simply a taqiyya tactic used to lull us back into a falsely peaceful status quo. Make no mistake though. They will continue to reconstitute their nuclear weapons program regardless of any treaties made. We MUST not give them another lifeline yet again.
It is because of this and after much research, thought, and prayer that I have come to the thoroughly considered opinion that President Trump needs to finish this war once and for all. We need to remove all of the nuclear material in Iran’s possession and eliminate any of the regime that shows us any resistance. Anything less will simply be little more than kicking the can of nuclear war down the road.
We should therefore use overwhelming asymmetrical force in capturing Kharg Island and the Iranian port there and reopen the Strait of Hormuz for unfettered freedom of navigation on international waterways for all peaceful nations yet again. Further, we should send all necessary troops, technicians, air support, and logistics support necessary to retrieve all nuclear material from Iran. We should further provide wireless internet access to the people of Iran and destroy the regime’s ability to block it so that the citizens know what is happening and perhaps foster a final uprising for their freedom. This can be done technologically by several means.
Regardless, the end of this evil regime must come to an end and it is morally incumbent upon America to ensure that this comes to pass. Untold innocent lives hang in the balance of this decision. We cannot afford to get this one wrong or someday the unimaginable WILL HAPPEN. This war must be finished for the sake of a lasting and true peace, and for the innocent Muslims living under the shadow of such dire oppression.
7 comments:
The military campaign should never have been paused in the first place. Israel was against doing so. The regime has now had weeks to rebuild its capabilities, including by importing military equipment from Russia across the Caspian Sea, bypassing the US blockade. It has also been executing political prisoners at a furious pace, to weaken internal opposition. Trump seems to be making decisions on the basis of US domestic political considerations rather than the reality on the ground.
When conflicts are not ended, meaning won, they just continue. Whenever Israel has been on the brink of a total defeat of jihadism, it is pressured by the West into backing down in one form or another, so the jihadists survive and regroup to fight again later. The ceasefire in Iran is just another example of the same pattern. If World War II had been managed like this, some version of the Nazi and Shinto-imperialist regimes would probably still be in power in Germany and Japan to this day.
(I don't really agree that using nuclear weapons to create a jihadist Armageddon is the only reason the regime could want them. It might also want them simply for deterrence -- making the US and Israel afraid to attack again. But I agree we can't take the risk.)
I agree that the military campaign should be resumed, but the focus needs to be on weakening and bringing down the regime. If that is not done, everything else that is accomplished will ultimately be for naught. Iran isn't like Iraq or Afghanistan. Its military technological base is nearly on par with the West in some areas. If the regime survives, given enough time it will reconstitute whatever capabilities have been destroyed, including the nuclear program. It will also be able to obstruct the Strait of Hormuz whenever it chooses, unless the US maintains a huge force on-site to keep it open. We cannot afford to keep sort of managing this problem and coming back to blow things up every few years for ever and ever. If the regime is overthrown, the threat will finally be ended; a democratic Iran would quite likely align itself with Israel and the West.
There are already some signs that the regime is fragmenting, but unfortunately it's very hard to tell exactly what is going on there. But only the end of the regime can end the threat.
Infidel, I wholeheartedly agree with your thoughtful analysis. There should NEVER have been a cease fire in the first place. As you said, this only allows a lifeline to an evil and brutal regime to rearm and continue their jihad against the West. Israel's very existence is at risk if this regime is not completely eliminated. Trump needs to show real leadership and stay the course and finish the war NOW! Anything less and you are correct that we will be back again in the years to come to stop the regime yet again, after who knows how many more innocent civilians are killed in Iran and in the region. I appreciate your comment, as always.
Fair enough, but exactly, outside of rough platitudes, do you take down the IRGC and its many sympathizers. Unlike the SS, which tattooed its adherents, there is no simple way of sorting the people who would go along and those who won't. This assumes you full-on invade and capture the Iranian nation, a country very roughly the combined area of both Texas and California.
You can't do this sort of detailed sorting from the air. WE have precious little in intelligence capable of the detail required. If you think you can take Kharg Island and starve them out the IRGC will simply hoard all the food, water, medicine. You end up killing, converting, the people who can help you.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/3/5/map-shows-how-big-iran-is-compared-with-the-50-us-states
The size depicted is about right give the relative square mile areas. The graphic was too good not to use.
So, ground invasion it is: Now all you need is a million, actually slightly more than a million, highly trained troops. We don't have half of that. But allies ... not any more. Not under Trump.
As for the 1.7 billion, it made no difference. The general mindset is that Iran is a small nation and short on cash. It is not. It is a bit more now but, at the time, the money, seized for another purpose was not critical to their support for any group. They had plenty of cash and have always found enough to support of their allies. It was also seized in accordance with international law with the agreement of our allies that it would be returned once the specific situation was resolved. To do otherwise would be to cast the US as a thief and discredit us a safe place to store international fund.
The uranium, the Iranians had said they were not going to try to further purify the uranium and, according to the IAEA and other international observers, they were good to their word. Held up their end of the previous agreement. The uranium was monitored 24/7/365, and there were both scheduled and unscheduled inspections to make sure they were not tampered with.
Everything we need now was had under the previous agreement. The only major problem was that the agreement had Obama's name on it. Trump couldn't countenance that so he tore it up. And here we are.
A powerful military that simply isn't large enough to complete the mission you advocate. And that's before they started degrading it from the inside. We spent 20 years in Iraq and accomplished very little. We could spend 30 in Iran with the same result. Another busted play; another humiliating failure; another waste of lives and treasure.
Given the options we are most likely to renegotiate the same agreement Obama did but under less favorable conditions. This time around they get more, we get less. But otherwise the same structure.
The truth of the matter is the US has caused many of the problems with Iran. We gave them their first reactor after we installed the Shah. 'Adams for Peace' was the program name. We trained their first nuclear engineers. I knew a couple of a later batch at university in 78, fine fellows. A bit shy around the ladies. They got jerked around when Iran went from Shah to Ayatollah. I could go on but ... a story for another day.
Anonymous, I appreciate your thoughtful comment. There is a lot to unpack there, for sure and I will endeavor to give a more thorough response as soon as I am able to do so. If I may ask a favor, would you mind ascribing some sort of alias to your comments, please? I have a few other "anonymous" commenters and I would appreciate knowing to whom I am replying. Thanks in advance!
A couple of reactions to the Anon comment (not trying to respond to the whole thing):
1: While it's very unlikely that a government could be overthrown purely by air power, especially in a large country, that's not what we'd be trying to do here. The crucial actor is the Iranian population, whose hatred for the regime is not in dispute -- anti-regime rallies over the past two decades have drawn protest crowds in the millions, some of the largest demonstrations in world history. In January the regime massacred at least thirty-six thousand people to suppress what was rapidly turning into a mass uprising. Iranians have long viewed Israel and the US favorably, largely because they are enemies of the Islamic regime. There will be no rally-round-the-flag effect in support of the government against foreigners. On the contrary, many Iranians are now feeling betrayed because Trump is negotiating with the regime instead of attacking it. What the US and Israel need to do is inflict enough damage on the regime's apparatus of repression to enable the Iranians themselves to overthrow it -- a very different proposition from invading and doing all the work of overthrowing the regime ourselves. And a lot of progress in that area has already been made during the earlier wave of attacks.
2: As for identifying who the regime's enforcers are (equivalent to the SS or Gestapo), believe me, the Iranians themselves will know, and they'll be more than happy to deal with those people as they deserve, once the regime's power is broken.
The real question is not whether we can afford to help the Iranians bring down the regime. The fact is, we can't afford to leave it in power. My concern is that Trump does not understand what needs to be done (and, yes, he has alienated potential allies with his relentless bullying and insults toward our fellow democracies while coddling dictators), and that he will not allow Netanyahu to do what needs to be done either.
Thank you Infidel! You basically made the very arguments I was going to in response to Anonymous' respectful comments.
Anonymous, like I said, I respect the tenor of you disagreement and welcome you back any time!
One last point, in reference to the last sentence of your post: the majority of Iran's population is not Muslim, although they used to be, a generation or two ago. This is partly because Iran has gone through the same cultural secularization as Europe and the US, but there's also the point that a repulsive and authoritarian regime acting in the name of a religion ultimately turns people off from the religion itself.
(It's also a fact that most Iranians don't much like or respect Arabs, yet they were practicing a religion which was imposed on their ancestors by Arab invaders. There was always something of a paradox there.)
So the theocracy in Iran is actually ruling in the name of a religion that almost two-thirds of the country's people don't even believe in any more.
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