Wednesday, July 8, 2009

Response to Robert Farley from the FPM

Read his article here

And now for my response:

Being Calm is the Wrong Response


Though this article provides an interesting history of the PRC's pursuit of nuclear weapons, it does not establish a sensible argument as to why the West should "calm down" with regard to Iran's stated goal of creating a nuclear arsenal.

Mr. Farley begins his article with sarcasm and ridicule, clearly mocking the legitimate fears of what could happen should Iran posses the bomb. He follows with a leap of logic to say that because the government controlled by Ahmadinejad has made outlandish statements, therefore all Iranians are "different, weird, and threatening." This could obviously be no farther from the truth.

I would suggest that Mr. Farley read the Preamble to the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran, in which it states that America (the representative of the West) plotted against Iran. The Preamble continues to delineate the manner in which the new government will be established - that is to say, the government will practice strict adherence to the laws of the Qu'ran. Now, anyone who has read the Qu'ran (as Farley clearly has NOT) knows that it states numerous times that the unbeliever must be destroyed and that a Jihad (Holy War) must be waged against those who wish to harm the believer.

Obviously, the more modern Muslim understands that the words of the Qu'ran are not to be taken literally; they are metaphorical, just as the Torah and the Bible are mostly metaphorical. However, fundamentalist Muslims - namely Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and his lackey President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad - interpret the Qu'ran quite literally. As such, they have both stated publicly on numerous occasions their desire to harm both Israel and America.

The concern is not what the government of Iran will do with nukes. It is fair to say that very few people believe that the state of Iran would be stupid enough to employ weapons against America, Great Britain, or pretty much any other country as that would no doubt incite a third world war. However, there is legitimate concern over the possibility of nuclear weapons falling into the hands of terrorists - such as Usama bin Laden - who may be less hesitant to use such devastating tactics.

The fear of Iran supplying terrorist groups is very real. The 9/11 commission found significant links between Iran and Al Qaeda, and it has been long known that Iran supports other groups such as Hezbollah, HAMAS, the Palestine Islamic Jihad, and Ahmad Jibril's PFLP-GC.

So, Mr. Farley, perhaps instead of telling the world to "calm down" through illogical arguments and exaggerations, perhaps it would be wise to educate people as to the real threat and allow countries (such as Israel) to protect themselves from a very real threat.