"The evil that is in the world almost always comes of ignorance, and good intentions may do as much harm as malevolence if they lack understanding."
Albert Camus
The hit science fiction show on TV again this season is called Fringe. In that show, a parallel universe exists which is similar, yet different than ours. For the sake of this article, I will assume we also live in a parallel universe to the one we know.
In this new universe, Hugo Chávez is the president of Mexico instead of Venezuela. He has a visceral hatred of the United States and continuously refers to us as vermin or worse. In fact, he has threatened to exterminate us more than once. Up to now, it has just been an annoyance as we have nukes and he does not. However, he has been working on enriching uranium and has numerous locations where secret research and processing is being conducted. In fact, we know through excellent intel that he has over 3,000 certerfuges operating at full capacity. The IAEA recently published a report stating that Mexico will have at least one functional nuke by the end of the next calendar year.
Back to reality. In our universe, this is what Israel lives with day in and day out. A nuclear Iran will be a real game changer. Best case, it will lead to proliferation allowing Saudi Arabia to develop their own program as to counter balance this new threat. Worst case, it will lead to a nuclear firestorm which will have global consequences extending far into the future.
Even though our current Administration has taken a caviler attitude towards a nuclear Iran as well as shown antipathy towards the Israeli Government, that is not the case in Israel. Last week Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned the United States must establish a clear "red line" that Iran cannot cross with its nuclear program if it wants to avoid war. "I think the issue is how to prevent Iran from completing its nuclear weapons program. They're moving very rapidly to completing the enrichment of the uranium that they need to produce a nuclear bomb. In six months or so, they will be 90% of the way there. I think it's important to place a red line before Iran, and I think that actually reduces the chance of a military conflict because, if they know there's a point, a stage in the enrichment or other nuclear activities that they cannot cross because they'll face consequences, I think they'll actually not cross it."
It has often been said that acts of omission are as heinous as acts of commission. Doing nothing to actively or passively support our most important ally in the Middle East sends the wrong message to friends and foes alike. We must learn from the likes of Neville Chamberlain that policies of appeasement never work when dealing with evil. Rather we need to join Israel and be the modern day Paul Revere by telling the world that evil is not only coming, it is here. We need to tell Iran where our "Red Line" is and we need to do it now. We need a line which the United States and Israel are in total agreement. Iran needs to know to cross that line will lead to the most onerous and catastrophic of outcomes for her people and their future. In short, we must stand with Israel, and no country, friend or foe, should have any doubt of that fact.
Back to reality. In our universe, this is what Israel lives with day in and day out. A nuclear Iran will be a real game changer. Best case, it will lead to proliferation allowing Saudi Arabia to develop their own program as to counter balance this new threat. Worst case, it will lead to a nuclear firestorm which will have global consequences extending far into the future.
Even though our current Administration has taken a caviler attitude towards a nuclear Iran as well as shown antipathy towards the Israeli Government, that is not the case in Israel. Last week Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned the United States must establish a clear "red line" that Iran cannot cross with its nuclear program if it wants to avoid war. "I think the issue is how to prevent Iran from completing its nuclear weapons program. They're moving very rapidly to completing the enrichment of the uranium that they need to produce a nuclear bomb. In six months or so, they will be 90% of the way there. I think it's important to place a red line before Iran, and I think that actually reduces the chance of a military conflict because, if they know there's a point, a stage in the enrichment or other nuclear activities that they cannot cross because they'll face consequences, I think they'll actually not cross it."
It has often been said that acts of omission are as heinous as acts of commission. Doing nothing to actively or passively support our most important ally in the Middle East sends the wrong message to friends and foes alike. We must learn from the likes of Neville Chamberlain that policies of appeasement never work when dealing with evil. Rather we need to join Israel and be the modern day Paul Revere by telling the world that evil is not only coming, it is here. We need to tell Iran where our "Red Line" is and we need to do it now. We need a line which the United States and Israel are in total agreement. Iran needs to know to cross that line will lead to the most onerous and catastrophic of outcomes for her people and their future. In short, we must stand with Israel, and no country, friend or foe, should have any doubt of that fact.
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