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Gregg J. Rickman is the Director of Congressional Affairs for the Republican Jewish Coalition and is the author of Swiss Banks & Jewish Souls (Transaction Publishers, 1999).
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By Gregg J. Rickman
December 30, 2002
There is much ado these days about a U.S. attack on Iraq. Moreover there is almost universal agreement that as long as Saddam Hussein remains in power in Iraq, there cannot be an atmosphere conducive to peace in the region. Saddam's neighbors in Iran, however, might nevertheless present problems of their own in any future peace process in the region. While a democratic regime in Iraq is a requirement for peace in the short term, a democratic and free Iran is important in the long-term
When one thinks of Iran, one thinks of suicide bombings, hostage taking, and arms smuggling to terrorist clients. Yet, if this were not enough, the regime in Iran is not merely content with funding Hamas's suicide bombings, training Hizbullah's fighters in their war with Israel and smuggling weapons to the PLO. This regime is eagerly and forcefully pursuing a program to manufacture and acquire weapons of mass destruction.
The "Iran will turn around, you'll see," crowd has been keeping the porch light on every night waiting for the good guys there to come home for twenty-three years now. Believing that constructive engagement with Iran is still possible, they never fail to give up hope. The question though is: Is there even a reason to believe that if left to itself, the regime in Tehran will ever "turn around?" Their actions do not support this, and any real attempt at moderation, despite the efforts of President Mohammad Khatami, seem impossible to imagine coming to true.
A fundamental assessment to an understanding of this regime should be that they will not evolve into Jeffersonian democrats. They will not moderate and they will not surrender. Moreover, in the name of Islam they maim and torture solely to propel their rule. They understand violence because it is their only method of rule. We must therefore face the reality that the mullahs in Tehran will use any means they have in order to retain power. According to the Middle East Newsline, the mullahs, fearing they could no longer trust their own security forces to put down the growing number of protests, have been forced to bring in mercenary Arab forces to do the job for them. Moreover, Iranian efforts to obtain additional nuclear reactors like the one at Bushehr, bought and built by Russia, demonstrate their craving for another lifeline for their rule.
On January 29, 2002, President Bush correctly declared Iran to be a charter member of the "Axis of Evil." Bravely, President Bush has addressed these nations for what they are: terrorist states and arms proliferators. As such, he has branded them as a threat to the security of the United States. He has redirected U.S. policy, programs, and intelligence toward defining and addressing the nature of the threat the Axis states pose. Now the job must be carried forward.
Iran should be addressed not only as an enemy of the United States, but as an enemy of all civilized states. Iran must be cordoned off, cut off from Western funding, investment, diplomacy, and all other forms of contact and support. It must be isolated from the other states in the region that seek peace and prosperity. If a nation acts like a pariah, it must be treated as one.
Next, the United States should develop funding for opposition forces there in the hope that with financial support, those opposing the mullahs can feel more emboldened to come out of their foxholes. Support and programs for a "post-mullah regime" will begin to convey the message to Tehran that their days are dwindling. True, such an entity would immediately draw the attention of the regime, making it a target, but no one should be foolish enough to believe that this would be a cakewalk. Holding out the promise of large U.S. contracts after "the fall," could provide even more incentive for support for a "Free Iran" opposition. Funding even serves the added purpose of demonstrating to the Iranian people that the United States is in fact supporting their struggle.
Also, a sustained campaign of diplomatic contacts and cajoling to convince our European friends to forego further credits and easy terms for financial loans to economically prop up Tehran is vital for the cause. France, Germany, Norway and others should cease their lifelines to Iran to ease the long-term effects of their horrific economic mismanagement. The regime there has destroyed their economy bringing down the standard of living for its people. Extending its grace period only increases the chance that the regime will leave its European creditors out in the cold when matters fall below a salvageable level. Europe must be convinced that Iran is a losing bet and that they should save themselves and forget about gambling on the false hope of a return on their investments. Europe gambled in the 1980s on Iraq and lost billions of dollars in the process. Will their mistake be repeated?
Moreover, European coddling of the regime only gives it credence in the eyes of the world. Admittedly the Europeans have a blind spot for Iranian terror and violence, even when it occurs on their territory like it did in Berlin and Paris during the last twenty years. Yet, a sustained program to wean them away from the Mullahs must be undertaken in the interest of all of who seek peace in the region. The Europeans must be forced to realize that in the end, they too would benefit from a democratic and free Iran.
Furthermore, the United States must increase funding for radio and satellite television broadcasting into Iran bringing them the news they are denied. The sole source for news for the Iranian people cannot remain to be the regime there. The Iranian people crave all things American and the thirst for genuine news will be no different. These broadcasts must provide more than the American sports scores and the weather in the United States. The news beamed into Iran must be hard-hitting, relevant, and timely to the situation. It must show the Iranian people that their revolution was betrayed and the regime has betrayed the rich heritage of its patrimony.
Just as the U.S. Government's new Radio Sawa relays its music and news bites to the lower Middle East, so too should a bolder and more challenging, surrogate "Radio Free Iran," and a "TV Free Iran" be directed towards that nation. The more the Iranian people hear and see that America does truly care and wants them to be free to rejoin the family of nations, the sooner this hope may become a reality.
The stepped-up provision of satellite dishes to receive this programming in the Iranian market could do to enlighten the Iranian people what Al-Jazeera has done to radicalize the people of the lower Middle East. Israel and the West have learned all too well the effects of Al-Jazeera has had on inciting the people of the Middle East. Western satellite news should be extended further to the people of Iran for the purpose of telling them the truth about what is going on in their country.
Block these transmissions they will, but not without cost to the mullahs, both materially and in morale. Like the broadcasts to the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe during the Cold War, captive people sacrificed and even risked life and limb to listen to Western broadcasts. When the Soviets jammed the broadcasts, it created undue hardships on them. They had to counter-broadcast all the time and they had to pay to do so. With a teetering economy, the higher the costs for the regime, the better.
In the end, Iraq is unquestionably a threat to peace, not only in the region, but in the world as well. Iran, however, is a different threat altogether. Where Saddam is a fool with a brutish mentality, the leaders in Tehran are a different sort. They are every bit as dangerous or more so. As honed practitioners of terrorism and violence, they pose a deep and abiding threat to the United States and its allies.
They will in the long run, pose the greatest threat to peace in our time. Their very advent to power, history will prove, may well turn out to have been as important, or more so, than the Soviet one. Whereas the Soviets knew limits when it came to Mother Russia, the mullahs are not so delicate. Their regime is one that is in search of power, ultimate power. If the mullahs get that power, the result will make Saddam look like a mere schoolyard bully. It would be far better to deal with the problem of Iran now, than in the future when we are staring down the barrel of a nuclear-armed Iran. If they achieve this capability, the Middle East will only be the first line of defense for us. After that comes the United States.
Views expressed by the author do not
necessarily reflect those of israelinsider.
 
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