The View From 1776

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Zieg Heil Ahmadinejad
By: Slater Bakhtavar

The volatile political situation in Iran should alarm historical intellectuals. Less than seventy years after Hitler committed mass genocide against millions of innocent people in Nazi Germany, a new anti-Christ has emerged from the land of Ancient Persia. Following in Hitler’s footsteps, the current Iranian President is a fanatical dictator whose agenda is fuelled by a form of anti-Semitism which is expressed through his occult following of hard-line Islamic terrorists. His recent calls to “wipe Israel off the map,” reinforces his ideological motive of mass genocide against innocent people. Optimistically but perhaps only temporarily he lacks the means to achieve his agenda. On the other hand, the current dictatorship may gain the means to commit mass genocide if the West continues to ignore the demands of the Iranian people for a free democratic society.

Those who doubt the possibility of genocide should take a look at the first-hand experiences of pro-Democracy Kurdish guerrillas. The oppressed minority has been fighting with the Islamic dictatorship for decades. Aaron Glantz interviewed two Kurdish guerrillas who spent three months under severe conditions of torture in Iranian captivity. One of the guerrillas recounted his impression of the Iranian justice system:

“They told us that we could not have a lawyer because the Islamic Republic itself represents God on this earth. They said you were working against the Islamic Republic. That means you were working against God, so you will be punished by torture.”

Words that shock the Western reader, resonate throughout all aspects of the oppressed Iranian society. The oppressive clerical dictatorship has subjugated the lives of millions of pro-western Iranians. Iran suffers from the worst brain drain in the world, has an unemployment rate of close to thirty percent, suffers from one of the worst drug addiction epidemics in the world, and houses one of the world’s largest political prisons. Iran should be a first world country with its massive oil and gas reserves, rather the average Iranian can barely feed their family much less afford the luxuries of a progressive state. The reigning clerics spend millions funding terrorist organizations like Hamas and Islamic Jihad, and billions buying off their trusted circle that’s loyal to their terrorist cause both inside and outside Iran.

Yes, Iran does have elections. These elections are a facade behind which manipulations of power are concealed. In an article in the National Review Online, pro-Democracy students Bahman Batmanghelidj and Kamal Azari point out that even if seventy percent of the people vote for pro-democracy candidates, “..clerical hard-liners ignore the voice of the voters and continue to use their power to veto, repress, and crush even a few modest efforts at a political opening.” Anyone seeking to run for the presidency of Iran must first be examined by a hard-line group of twelve clerics. During the recent election, the Guardian Council disqualified over ninety-eight percent of the candidates, including all female candidates and virtually every single reformist. The seven candidates that made it past the Council were all Islamists loyal to the Islamic dictatorship. A dictatorship where all authority is vested in an un-elected ‘Supreme Leader’, currently Ayatollah Khamenei. Hence, although the Iranian government has elections, these elections are used as a propaganda tool directed towards the naïve rather than a tool of democracy . A recent poll conducted by pro-Democracy students in Iran shows that the current President of Iran enjoys the support of about twenty percent of the Iranian populace, likewise over eighty percent of the Iranian student body supports a secular democratic government.

Still, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has disowned the Iranian people’s call for modernization, choosing instead to pursue a policy of irrational fundamentalism that will trigger repercussions around the world. Ahmadinejad is the head of a fascist anti-Semitic campaign, denying the reality of the Holocaust and demanding the transfer of Israel to Europe. As the Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center points out, Ahmadinejad’s statements “..reveal him as a fanatic ideologue who despite criticism at home and abroad, clearly prefers revolutionary Islamic considerations, as defined by Khomeini, to pragmatic national ones.” Some critics believe that the harsh words of the Iranian leader are too emotional to be taken seriously, however, if the majority adopts this approach, it may be too late to suppress the wave of violence. If the possible violence materializes, it will be felt by the world at large and most importantly by the Persians themselves. After all, the fundamentalist ideology of the current regime sharply contrasts with the views of young Iranians that desire for a modernized and prosperous state that enjoys friendly relations with the world, without suffering the backlash from economic sanctions. Ahmadinejad?s policies will also exacerbate an already explosive relationship between the East and the West, perpetuating the dictatorship strategically in a vital region.

The Republican Party’s position of non-violent financial and moral support for the pro-American people of Iran is the best option available to stop these Iranian policies from further damaging the world. President Bush recently reiterated this support when he said that the “...United States stands with the people of Iran” and that the “United States has no beef with the people of Iran,” but with the government. Taking the non-violent approach advocated by the Republican Party can be effective in stopping the nuclear threat like the one averted during the Cold War. Choosing non-violent action will help preserve stability in the region and lead to the peaceful elimination of an oppressive and unjust regime.

Let us take the campaign to the terrorists before we are all pledging allegiance to a regime with the vision of genocide and a universal caliphate state.

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