The Truth Of A Nuclear Iran

As detrimental as President Obama’s domestic policies are with regard to American capitalism, it is his timid foreign policy that will ultimately pose the gravest threat to American democracy. Though the president’s policy of massive entitlement programs, runaway spending and escalating taxes will surely result in the continued economic hardship of our generation, these laws and regulations, with proper legislative leadership, may one day be repealed. However, the Iranian possession of nuclear weaponry, once acquired, will be permanent. Only war and the risk of an atomic apocalypse will wrest Iran of its nuclear armament. In the 1930’s, Winston Churchill warned often and earnestly of Adolf Hitler’s book ‘Mein Kampf’ which foretold the future dictator’s ideology and plans of world domination. Lacking strong leadership at the time of Hitler’s ascension, the world sat back and watched as Hitler brought these plans to fruition. It was not until Churchill became Prime Minister that Nazi Germany was forced to face a strong and concerted resistance. Eventually, with the addition of Franklin Roosevelt’s American war machine, the Allies were able to triumph.

Optimism, by definition, is the belief that good will ultimately prevail over evil; I personally subscribe to this philosophy, but I believe that the cost of that victory is subject to the strength of character and to the moral fortitude of the leaders fighting for its cause. Pre-Churchillian Europe is a prime example of the consequences rendered by weak national leadership and by a failure to face reality. Had British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain heeded the warnings of Winston Churchill and moved to stop Hitler’s publicly professed agenda before it grew in scope, many of the horrific events of World War II may have been avoided.

Human liberty requires eternal vigilance to insure its own survival; this, in turn, requires decisive leadership and a willingness to confront evil. Ronald Reagan used to say that freedom is always only one generation away from extinction and history has confirmed his wisdom. His policy of expanding American nuclear strength while simultaneously seeking to eliminate the nuclear threat through disarmament, missile defense and the assurance that, if attacked, America would reciprocate in kind, led to a relative ease in Russo/American tensions and to the eventual collapse of the Soviet Union. Reagan’s policy of peace through strength was directly responsible for the end of the Cold War and should serve as a basic philosophical tenant for all American presidents.

Iran, a nation that has continuously expressed a malicious contempt for the American way of life, has vowed for decades to destroy our nation and that of our Israeli allies. They hate us not only for what we do, but for who we are and what we represent. No amount of American concessions will change that. By most estimates Iran is now only months away from nuclear capability and if they succeed in achieving this, the balance of world power will irrevocably change for the worse. As with Hitler in the 1930’s, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has made clear his intention to eliminate the Jewish race and anyone in support of Israel. In vivid detail, he has consistently expressed his intent to radicalize the Americas, planting Iranian forces in Venezuela, Ecuador and Cuba to achieve this. The cruel intentions and nefarious motives of this soon to be nuclear nation are readily available for the world to see, but as was the case in World War II, the leaders of the Western world are ignoring the threat. President Obama continues to push the United Nations for economic sanctions against Iranian interests. These sanctions are inherently weak in structure and will prove meaningless in their application. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is the only national leader who appears willing to destroy the Iranian nuclear facilities before they are fully functional. His efforts are being obstructed, however, by President Obama who has threatened Israel with American abandonment if and when Israel launches a preemptive military strike.

Many White House officials have expressed a willingness to accept a nuclear Iran and to adhere to a policy of containment akin to that of the Cold War. Unlike Russia of the twentieth century, Iran holds little concern for the lives of its subjects and would be prepared to risk a nuclear reprisal in reaction to its own attack. Because President Obama, early in his term, had reneged on a Bush-Era deal with Poland to place a nuclear defense shield in Eastern Europe, Iran’s chances of launching a successful nuclear assault have increased exponentially. It is imperative that America, or one of its allies, take immediate action to curtail Iran’s nuclear program before we enter an irreversible path toward destruction.

For those opposed to a preemptive military strike to impede Iranian ambitions, I ask one simple question: If not now, then when? Do we wait for Ahmadinejad to be fully armed and to begin implementing his agenda of American destruction? Do we risk another holocaust due to a lack of moral fortitude? Good, ultimately will prevail over evil, but as we have learned from the lessons of World War II, the cost of victory may be devastating. Today’s revolutionary Iran is yesterday’s Nazi Germany; President Obama must come to accept this and face this truth directly. To deny the credibility of the Iranian threat would amount to a dangerous repeat of history. Containment of a nuclear Iran is not a viable strategy; it is one based on wishful thinking more so than reality. To quote the words of the late, great Winston Churchill: “The truth is incontrovertible, malice may attack it, ignorance may deride it, but in the end; there it is.” President Obama would be wise to take heed of the wisdom of Winston Churchill and, once and for all, face the truth of a nuclear Iran.

Jeremy Pitcoff

Smithtown Republican Committeeman