By: Mark Mazer
October 15, 2024
On June 9, 1981, the NY Times ran a massive full-page headline: “ISRAELI JETS DESTROY IRAQI ATOMIC REACTOR.” The Times went on to report:
“The raid was immediately condemned by the United States, which Mr. Begin said had not been notified in advance. A State Department spokesman in Washington denounced it as ”a very serious development and a source of utmost concern.” Washington has been trying to improve relations with Baghdad.”
The United States suspended some arms sales as they complained about the attack. France, who was building the reactor, castigated Israel for it. The Arab League called for sanctions. The UN, on June 19th, passed a resolution condemning the attack. The world excoriated the Jewish State.
Fast forward to August of 1990. Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait and the United States led an international coalition to expel the Iraqis from Kuwait. The world quietly took a deep sigh of relief because Iraq, which had a history of using weapons of mass destruction, did not have a nuclear weapon in its arsenal. This, of course, was due to the Israel air strike nine years earlier.
In other words, despite the world’s condemnation, the world benefitted from Israel’s courageous act.
George Santayana wrote, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” The world doesn’t seem to remember that the rules are different in the Middle East than in the rest of the world. The United States was able to nullify the nuclear threat of the Soviet Union with the strategy of MAD or “Mutually Assured Destruction.” The leaders of the USSR knew that launching a nuclear attack against the United States would result in their absolute and immediate destruction. Therefore, the nuclear option was taken off the table and the world had relative peace. Granted, it was an uneasy peace but it was called the “Cold War” because there was no active shooting.
MAD will not work with the Ayatollas in Iran. Unlike the leaders of the Soviet Union, who were people out for power and personal riches, the Iranian leadership believes that to die in the fight against the United States or Israel is in service of God’s will. You cannot negotiate with someone like that.
Israel was attacked by Iran two weeks ago and is contemplating the most effective counterstroke against Iran. Two commonly suggested targets are the Iranian oil fields, which would devastate Iran’s ability to financially support their terrorist proxies throughout the region, and the Iranian nuclear facilities. Destroying the nuclear facilities could forestall Iran becoming a nuclear state which would threaten the entire world.
One would think that these are good options. After all, Iran is the world’s number one sponsor of terrorism. Take away their nuclear threat and money, they will be unable to threaten the world as they are. Unfortunately, the world has forgotten the lesson of 1990.
President Joe Biden is arguing against both of these potential targets. Now, I understand the argument against hitting the oil fields. If Israel does hit the oil fields, it would cause a spike in oil prices which, in turn, would cause a rise in gasoline prices in the United States. This is an election year and the president’s view of the future ends on November 5, 2024. But, honestly, I do not see the problem with taking out the nuclear facilities. That would seem to be a good thing, wouldn’t it? So, what’s going on here?
Well, the stated reason is that the United States fears a regional war breaking out in the Middle East if Israel’s response is too harmful to Iran. In response, I would say, “Just what do you think you have right now?” Israel has been attacked by:
- Hamas (Gaza)
- The Palestinian Authority (Judea and Samaria)
- Hezbollah (Lebanon)
- The Houthis (Yemen)
- Iraqi Militias
- Syria
- Iran
If that’s not a regional conflict, what is?
In fact, to take the logic one step further, all of the actors attacking Israel stem from one source: Iran. Take out Iran, the rest of the actors will whither on the vine from a lack of funds and support. In other words, take out Iran and there may just be peace in the region. So, tell me again what the president’s problem is?
Ellen Mitchell, writing in The Hill, reported on October 4th:
“I don’t think a kind of all-out regional war raging a month before a general election is the backdrop that the Biden administration wants to see,” said Michael Hanna, U.S. program director at the International Crisis Group.
So, according to Hanna, once again it comes down to the election.
Maybe I am a pollyanna but that is just wrong. I know, I know. Politics is a dirty blood sport and the only thing that counts is winning. And that is the problem. Our politicians are so concerned with winning and getting or keeping their jobs, they have become total unconcerned with doing their jobs which is to serve us, the public. This is not just true at the national level but at all levels of government.
And, you know who is to blame? We are. We keep electing these yahoos and then wonder why we are less safe, less prosperous, more taxed, more regulated and, in general, more miserable as times goes on.
Winston Churcill once wrote, “Many forms of Government have been tried, and will be tried in this world of sin and woe. No one pretends that democracy is perfect or all-wise. Indeed it has been said that democracy is the worst form of Government except for all those other forms that have been tried from time to time.” He was totally correct. It is time for us to rise up and use the democratic process for our benefit now. When politics trumps our own personal safety, the politicians who do that have to go.
Make no mistake. A nuclear Iran threatens us here in the United States. According to a report on Iran Watch, Iran has ballistic missles that can travel up to 6,000 km. That’s about 3,725 miles. While that does not yet reach us, they are working on the technology and have the support of China and Russia (again, due to the policies of the current administration). Eliminating their ability to create and use a nuclear weapon is in the United States’ national interest.
Kamala Harris is part of this administration and recently said that she would not change a single thing Biden has done or is doing. So, clearly she is in agreement with this idiotic, self-destructive policy. That is a good enough reason for her to never step foot in the Oval Office.
Yes, Donald Trump is, to put it mildly, a terrible candidate. But his record on this is solid. He put strong restrictions on Iran and kept them in check. The Biden-Harris administration set Iran free.
That’s the ballgame for me. Never forget the lines in the Declaration of Independence: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed, by their Creator, with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”
The first right is the right to live. Iran threatens that and therefore must go.
Biden should stop hindering Israel and support them to the utmost of the United States’ ability. Israel’s fight against Iran is the United States’ fight. An Israeli victory over Iran will mean a safer United States. That means all of us who live in this great country will be safer. I do not expect him to do that, though, which is why he and his perfidious administration must go. And that means Kamala must lose in November. QED.
