Rise of the Aryans By Jamal Greene

Never again. It is a phrase that calls to remembrance the horrors of the Holocaust and the genocides that followed; to never forget that in order for atrocities to occur, the world must turn its back and allow them to. At this present time the world faces another totalitarian regime bent on dominating the energy rich region of the Persian Gulf, and destroying an Ancient people, already having suffered under the Holocaust, by embroiling them in the flames on a nuclear attack. Iran, a regime the US government claims to be the world’s leading exporter of Terrorism around the world; a regime that has been responsible for hundreds, maybe thousands, of US deaths in Iraq and Afghanistan due to its shipment of explosive devices to Terrorists and Militia fighters.

Today the Islamic Republic declared itself A Nuclear State, with the ability to enrich uranium up to 80%, which is weapons grade. Iran claims to have produced its first batch of 20 % enriched uranium, a feat that many did not expect so soon. In his inaugural address, President Obama said, “To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history; but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.” In response, the Iranian Supreme leader in short told America to stuff it and he considered it disgusting to negotiate with America, even with the Anointed One as President. Throughout 2009, Iran tests fired several short to medium range missiles with little to no action on the part of the US administration and the international community. In 2009 Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stood in the UN general assembly and assailed the world for allowing a dictatorial mad man like Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to once again make a mockery of the world and Jewish people worldwide by denying the holocaust and routinely calling for Israel’s destruction. The Israeli Prime Minister, and indeed the world, is now asking themselves, have the time for sanctions pasts?

There are some that would argue that the time for sanctions have pasts and that’s it time for the US or Israel to take out the Iranian facilities. However, the regional and international repercussions of such a strike would be major to say the least. Some believe a surgical airstrike on Iranian nuclear facilities would be a quick, slam dunk, operation but there are many reasons to believe such thoughts are based in idealism, not Realism. We have learned over the past few months of a secret Iranian enrichment facility located in the Shiite holy city of Qom, and there are many who believe there are more such facilities yet to be uncovered. An airstrike against the known Iranian facilities would be relatively easy for an Air Force as technologically advanced as America or Israel but the strike would fail to hit the facilities we believe may exist but don’t know there locations; and it’s the unknown facilities that should cause concern. Soon after the air strike to take out the known nuclear facilities, ground forces would need to be sent in to find the other facilities and troops in the region would have to be put on high alert as the Iranians seek retaliation. Israel, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and other allies in the region would need to be protected from a bombardment of Iranian missiles, plus Israel and Lebanon would also have to defend against incoming rocket and missile attacks from Iranian proxies Hezbollah and Hamas. The region could diverge into regional war causing massive shock waves through the financial markets as oil prices soared. These are very possible scenarios that could unfold in the event of a surgical strike to destroy Iran’s nuclear facilities. The strike would have to be on a massive scale if we are to downgrade Iran’s retaliatory measures and protect our troops and allies in the region. Not only would we have to go after known Nuke facilities but also high level military installations and bases. The question American and Israeli policy makers must ask themselves: Are we ready to put a substantial amount of human life on the line by green lighting the strikes?

Currently the US and other western nations are calling for a new round of international sanctions on Iran targeting their financial sectors and refined petroleum imports. The United States and others such as France, Germany, and the United Kingdom could move quickly to impose unilateral economic sanctions on Iran, barring any company doing business with Iran from doing business within their perspective countries. The hope of sanctions is that companies and individuals doing business with Iran would be so adversely affected by not having access to US and Western markets that they’d divest from Iran thereby crippling Iran’s economy. However, Iran, similar to Iraq and North Korea, has survived sanctions in the past and would most likely survive these due to Iran’s trade and economic agreements with China and Russian; these are the same nations by the way that are standing in the way of meaningful sanctions. China has repeatedly voiced their opposition to new sanctions on Iran via the UN Security Council and although the Obama administration claims to be making inroads with convincing Russia, the real story tells another tale. Russia has economic, political, and diplomatic relations with Iran and as late as 2009 there was much reported in the international press on the pending Natural Gas cartel to be headed by Russia and Iran; these are the two nations with the largest known world reserves. Without Russia and China onboard, and with those nations continuing to support Iran’s economy, there are only minimal effects sanctions can have. It should be the policy of the United States of America to use every tool in its diplomatic and political arsenal to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon. This means the US congress should pass and President Obama should sign the Refined Petroleum Act forbidding companies and individuals from doing business with both Iran and American financial institutions. The Obama administration should hope for the best but prepare for the worst. I believe war with Iran is inevitable because I understand the mentality of the radical fundamentalists that control Iran. Religiously, these individuals are what are known as “twelvers”, and they are called “twelvers” because they believe in the ultimate return of the Twelfth Imam, their version of an Islamic Messiah. The leaders of Iran believe that in order for this Figure to appear, the world must first warrant his coming through war and bloodshed. Only in a time a severe chaos, do they believe the Imam will appear and save his people from destruction. The Iranian’s believe they can bring about such calamity with a nuclear weapon. As outlandish as this may sound to some who have not studied the different schools within Islam, it is a reality. Many would have thought it was just as outlandish to say that 19 men of Middle Eastern descent and sharing a common Islamic faith would highjack airplanes on a bright September’s morning and change this nation’s history forever. But it happened. In the event that sanctions have minimal effect on dissuading Iran’s activities, then the US should quickly move to take out the known facilities, buying Israel and the world more time to locate the other facilities, take them out, and help the Iranian people to topple the current regime. I’ll leave you all with an interesting and thought provoking account of contemporary Iranian history. Persia, the name Iran was known by until more modern times; but when and why did Persia become Iran? During the years of Adolf Hitler’s rule in Germany, the Iranian Ambassador to Germany and the Nazi’s decided that during the “war to end all wars”, or WWII, that Iran should declare its alliance with Nazi Germany, and it was to be public. Sadly it is rarely mentioned in the media or foreign policy publications as to why Persia became Iran; and there are scant sources found by a simple Google search. Since 1935 and the secret alliance with Nazi Germany Persia has been known as Iran. The name Iran means in their native language “Land of the Aryans”. Never Again.