Would Iran’s Mullahs Use the Bomb?
23 Jan, 2007
There is so much smoke around the Iranian Mullahs’ bomb that
makes Tehran’s smog feel like a fresh ocean
breeze, by comparison. Here is a partial list of views about the
Mullahs, their capabilities and intentions about the bomb affair.
The Mullahs:
* Will never dare to use the bomb, even if they had it. To do so
would be suicidal.
* Are years away from anything resembling a credible bomb, in any quantities.
* They lack the technological skills needed to make a workable bomb.
* Don’t have the means of hitting Israel with the bomb, their professed favorite target.
* Want the bomb for defensive purposes only.
* Would never hand the bomb over to proxy terrorists.
* Are using this whole bomb thing as a ploy to rally the populace and survive.
* Are visionary patriots planning for a future when the oil dries up.
* Are environmentalists aiming to curb global warming caused by the use of fossil fuel.
* Are striving to join the nuclear club for its prestige.
And on, and on, and on, goes the litany. I believe, based on facts
rather than wishful thinking, that every one of the above
assertions, as well as all other similar dismissive arguments are
both false and fraught with danger, because all the above
arguments are confounded by various amounts of denial.
Psychological denial is a common quirk of the human mind. People
use denial to distort, even refute reality, when accepting it is
too threatening to them. Alcoholics are habitual users of denial,
a major tranquilizer of the mind. The alcoholic will adamantly
deny having any problem with alcohol and continues to drink, even
in the face of irrefutable contrary evidence. Denial is resorted
to by both individuals and groups, and can be just as deadly for
both.
Perhaps the most compelling dismissive argument is that the
Mullahs would never dare to use the bomb, since it would be
suicidal to do so. This argument is just as flawed as the rest.
The “mutual deterrence” argument may work in state-to-state
confrontations. It apparently has worked in the past and the hope
is that it will work in the future. However, the mutual deterrence
argument fails when a non-state entity is the adversary. The
Mullahs don’t have to lob a bomb at Israel or at anyone else to
inflict huge harm. They can pursue their cause of death and
destruction by simply providing their killers with dirty bombs in
a suitcase. Given the Mullahs’ fanaticism and Machiavellian
nature, they would come up with a myriad of clever schemes to
achieve their objectives.
Consider dirty bombs. They are easy to make, are portable, can
kill as well as make a city uninhabitable, without leaving a
“finger print.” The Mullahs can go to work then turn “innocently”
to the international community for help them- to find a group of
rogue radicals, so they claim, who had penetrated their facilities
and have made off with a loot of radioactive stuff.
It is not as if events like this have never happened in the past.
Deadly stolen radioactive materials have found their way to the
black market on a number of occasions. The world would respond in
panic, yet with its usual arthritic sluggishness searching for the
miscreants. Given how clumsy and disorganized the world’s
intelligence community is, the prospect of acting expeditiously,
much less apprehending the “thieves” is not very encouraging. This
is particularly the case when the Mullahs themselves would have a
short leash on the “thieves,” to hide them and deploy them only
with the greatest of care.
Iran’s ruling Mullahs are clustered around major factions such as
the conservatives, the moderates, and the so-called reformists.
Yet, the differences among these factions are tactical rather than
strategic. One and all share the same overarching goal of
defeating the “Crusader-Zionists” by any and all methods possible;
bringing about the “end of the world” Armageddon; and, thereby
creating the requisite conditions for the appearance of the Hidden
Imam, the Mahdi, to assume his rule of the world.
Therefore, it is Cart Risqué (foolish risk-taking a la Jimmy
Carter’s throwing the nation’s lot with the Mullahs during the
1979 Iranian Revolution) to overlook the fact that it is Islam,
irrespective of any and all considerations, that poses a deadly
threat to the world. Choosing one faction over another is no
choice at all.
What is the likelihood that the ruling Mullahs will actually use
the bomb? If they remain in power long enough to have it, they are
very likely to use it, in one form or another. At the very least,
they use the bomb for blackmail and intimidation in the region.
Not even the all-out nuclear exchange can be ruled out. Islam is a
religion centered on death with the faithful eyes fixed on the
afterlife and its promised eternal pleasures. If the faithful
kills, he goes to Allah’s paradise; if he gets killed, he goes to
Allah’s paradise.
The Mullahs’ claim that they are pursuing the nuclear program to
meet the country’s energy need could only fool the most
gullible-denial type. Why is it that the Mullahs invest nothing at
all in stopping the leak of more than six percent of the precious
oil they pump out? For every 100 barrels, six barrels of Iran’s
irreplaceable national treasure dissipates at the wellhead. Yet,
they spend billions of dollars to harness nuclear energy. Just as
troubling is the fact that Iran sits on one of the world’s most
dangerous earthquake fault lines. Building nuclear plants on sites
such as the one in Bushehr is absolute insanity.
Speaking of insanity, Ahmadinejad, the Monkey, comes to mind. He
is dismissed as being a zany fanatic who shouldn’t be taken
seriously for his bomb-rattling threats. But this type of
dismissiveness can prove deadly. Recall that even a
multi-billionaire former president of Iran Rafsanjani, a man seen
by many as moderate and a shrewd live-let-live type, has publicly
announced that a single bomb would finish off Israel while the
Muslims would suffer a setback from which it can easily recover.
The Mullahs are proven vicious mass killers. They summarily
executed tens of thousands of Iranian dissidents. They had no
qualms at sending thousands of children to clear the minefields
ahead of their tanks during the 80-89 war with Iraq; and, they
have thousands of “martyrs” brainwashed and prepared to serve as
bomb mules to be dispatched to any place in the world.
Sadly, once again it is the peak of “Me First” time with American
politicians. Like sharks, they are circling the “bleeding” lame
President, busily snipping at him and hoping to take his place. In
the meantime the real enemy, Islamofascism is forging ahead toward
its goal of dominating the world.
I have been warning that it is a deadly miscalculation to engage
in infighting, and sit and wait this emerging catastrophe out. It
is little more than an exercise in denial to believe that nothing
bad will happen, and that the corrupt inept Mullahs will likely
shoot themselves in the foot instead of wreaking havoc on the
world. I also keep pleading that we should forthwith help the
Iranian democratic oppositions send the death-bearer Mullahs back
to their mosques. It is the free world’s best and urgent option.
What sane person would want to take a chance to wait and see if
the mad Mullahs, once they have the bomb, would use it or not.