The Iranian Threat

Below is the text draft of my speech given on behalf of the Conservative Leadership Association on Thursday, October 2, at the Public Viewing Area prior to the VP debates. This differs slightly from what was said. Video may follow soon.

Note: Additional copies of the DVD (see below) will be available throughout October, at times and locations to be announced.

Before I begin, I want to thank everybody here for coming out to get involved in the political process. What makes this country great is the ability to express a range of opinions, and debate their merits freely, without fear of governmental reprisal. While I find myself at odds with most of those that have spoken so far, I am glad that they have had an opportunity to disseminate their opinion, and I am thankful to granted that very same opportunity. Today, I am speaking on behalf of the Conservative Leadership Association, which is a non-partisan campus organization designed to give voice to our school’s tiny conservative population. As one might expect, there are a range of views held by members, so I ask that you keep in mind that whatever I say, even if supported by the vast majority of the membership, does not necessarily reflect the opinions of everybody involved. I therefore ask that any issue you may choose to take with my speech is directed to me and me alone.

With that said, I will now be speaking about…

The Iranian Threat

On November 4, 1979, militant Islamists stormed the US embassy in Iran, taking hostage American civilians for 444 days. It was a symbolic gesture to the West, signaling the end of the status quo, now that an Islamic revolution had taken place in Iran. The moderate, pro-Western Shah that we had, up until Jimmy Carter, extended support to, was removed from power, and replaced by a hardline theocratic government. A state that had broken ground in the Muslim world by recognizing Israel and ending the oppression of women was, in a matter of months, destroyed. The Iran that could’ve been a stabilizing force in the region and a loyal American ally may exist in the hearts and minds of a tiny section of the present-day population that is fed up with the Islamist leadership. But, those are not the people in power there, making the decisions that impact American security, and the security of our allies. Rather, it is the freedom-hating, tyrannical religious regime that has spent nearly three decades in power that we must now confront. Present day Iran is one of our greatest security threats, and has been since November 4, 1979.

The ideological origins of present-day Iran come primarily from two sources. First is the Koran and other Islamic religious scholarship, which they interpret in the most hard line and extreme fashion possible. Second is the concept of Gharbzadegi, a term coined by the famed Iranian socialist Jalal Al-e-Ahmad. Translated to English, this roughly means Occidentosis, or as he explained, the loss of Iranian culture to the West by the adoption of foreign values. But what are these values being objected to? For starters, the equal treatment of men and women. As the Koran makes clear in Surah 2 verse 282, a woman is worth half what a man is. Such a concept is present in Sharia law, which requires four male witnesses to validate the claim of rape. Should a woman fail to produce that, she may be charged with having extramarital sex, and find herself subject to punishment or even death. Another of these supposedly Western values that the Iranian theocrats reject is the legal protection of homosexuals. Iranian legal code indicates that one found guilty of being gay may be executed. And indeed, the state has done exactly that. Since the start of the Islamic revolution there have been at least 110 recorded cases of public execution, often times by the barbaric method of stoning, for those found guilty of engaging in homosexual activity. Their justification is again based in the Koran, where such acts are condemned at least four separate times, and where the notion of savagely killing those who disobey Allah is frequently re-iterated.

But, of states governed by irrational, hateful ideologies, what makes Iran a special case? It is that, rather than confine its insane policies to its own boarders, Iran foments the flames of Islamic jihad and anti-Western violence around the world. Close partnership with anti-American socialists in Latin America like Hugo Chavez and Evo Moralas are alarming enough. But Iran has made every effort to provide the support needed to a range of terrorist groups that seek the annihilation of the United States, the broader Western World, and our Israeli allies.

Part of the Hezbollah charter says, “As for our culture, it is based on the Holy Quran, the Sunna and the legal rulings of the faqih who is our source of imitation.” And what is Faqih? It is an Islamic religious principal that says the heads of state must be scholars of Islam, and set national policy in accordance with Sharia law and the Koran. The concept was first resurrected and put into practice by Ayatollah Khomeini to justify the Islamic Revolution of Iran. It is found in the Hezbollah charter because, while the leadership presently claims to accept Lebanon’s multi-faith composition, it originally sought the creation of a Shia Islamic Republic similar to that which is found in Iran. Even if the organization has permanently abandoned this goal for an Islamist Lebanon, they have not abandoned the Iranian proclivity towards violence. During the 1980s, they carried out more than three dozen terrorist attacks, claiming more than 650 lives, including 241 Americans in the 1983 Beruit Marine Barracks boming and another 17 when they bombed our local embassy that same year.

Hezbollah has not stopped since then. Indeed, they attempted to attack the American embassy again earlier this year. Of course, their actions are not limited to attacks on Americans, but world Jewry. I speak not only of the frequent and illegal attacks against Israel, but of their charter’s calls to destroy Israel, which mirror those from the Iranian government. And, I must also note their involvement in bombing a Jewish community center in Argentina that killed 85, which was done in collaboration with Iran. The highly advanced weapons used by Hezbollah during the 2006 Summer War they started against Israel, and the battlefield guidance by high ranking military officials, both came from Iran. Indeed, according to military intelligence, it would appear that Hezbollah now has long-range missiles from Iran, capable of hitting any major city inside Israel’s borders. Is there any doubt that if Iran goes nuclear they’ll have access to that technology as well?

And, alarming a prospect as it is, a nuclear Iran is a very real possibility unless immediate action is taken. Five years of negotiation by the EU-3 have only given the Iranian more time to build their covert weapons program. Information leaked from an IAEA report earlier this month indicates that Iran has attempted to fit their long range missiles to be capable of carrying a nuclear payload, and have activated an additional 500 nuclear centrifuges since May, bringing the total to over 3800 active centrifuges.

Some undoubtedly believe the regime has peaceful intentions for this technology, and claim it is acting in accordance with international law. But the IAEA information on their missile program would seem to indicate otherwise. And certainly the statements coming from the regime display an incredible bloodlust and an interest in obliterating their enemies through any means possible. I do not regard references to the United States and Israel and the ‘Great and Little’ Satans to be anything more than regional posturing; rhetoric designed to rally the base. But they have made some very real, very alarming statements regarding their ambitions. In several instances, Mahmoud Achmadinejad has threatened to wipe our closest ally and important regional partner Israel off the map. Even if we accept the translation advanced by the Iranian apologists, and acknowledge that he was instead seeking the elimination of the so called “Zionist Regime” rather than the land itself, we must put in the context of his wish to give that entire land to Muslims. His statement therefore still requires that he slaughter millions of Israeli Jews in some fashion or another. And that is simply not acceptable.

Achmadinejad dreams of another Holocaust, as do the religious authorities who outrank him in Iran. At present, they threaten our allies, and the provide support to groups that threaten our own security. To let the situation become worse by allowing Iran to go nuclear is too risky. We, as a nation, must wake up and face the Iranian threat while time is still on our side!

I would like to close by asking you to stick around and see Dr. Richard Swier of the Florida Security Council speak at 6:40 about national security,. I would further suggest those of you who’ve not yet seen the groundbreaking documentary Obsession: Radical Islam’s War Against the West pick up a copy of the DVD, which my organization, the Conservative Leadership Association, in partnership with the Florida Security Council and the Watch Obsession campaign is providing free of charge (over there –point to table). 

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