Courtesy of http://www.irantour.org
The Jerusalem Reclamation Project, which promotes the settlement of Arab and Palestinian areas, recently hosted possible 2012 presidential candidate Mike Huckabee. While he was there, he told his Israeli audience that international criticism should not deter them from building settlements in East Jerusalem, because it is Israel’s “eternal capital.” He stated that they have the right to build anywhere in “the place that God gave them.” President Obama, on the other hand, has called the settlements illegal, an opprobrious stance for the President of the United States to take.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton recently denounced the destruction of the Shepherd Hotel, former residence of the grand mufti of Jerusalem. The Palestinians blow up buses and check points, killing dozens of Jewish people, but Hillary Clinton wants to condemn the Israelis for demolishing a vacant building. After hearing of Secretary Clinton’s rebuke, Huckabee stated, “I think we ought to be more concerned about Iran building bombs than Israelis building bedrooms.” He is right in his reasoning — the United States should get its priorities straight.
According to Israeli intelligence, Iran is just three years away from having a nuclear bomb capable of reaching the West. Pakistan and North Korea already have nuclear missiles, so the United States should be focused on preventing Iran from obtaining nuclear capability.
With Iraq out of the way, Iran is the only Middle Eastern country remaining in the Axis of Evil, but Ahmadinejad has been gaining support in recent years, especially from terrorist organizations like Hezbollah. Iran’s power is waxing, and it does not look ready to stop.
The recent unrest has visibly altered the political landscape, and when the dust settles, Iran may have even more allies. The balance of power is shifting, and we need to apply enough pressure to keep it tilted in our favor.
It is not just up to the United States, though. As the first line of defense against Iran, Israel has a responsibility to use the materials we have given them to execute their duties in protecting Judeo-Christian nations from Islamofascist countries. In 1981, Israel used F-16 fighter jets to lead an air raid on Iraq’s Osirak Nuclear Reactor, preventing Saddam from gaining nuclear weapons. This raid’s codename was Operation Opera. I’m now calling for “Operation Encore” — an Israeli air strike, sanctioned by NATO, on Iran’s nuclear facilities.
Preventative measures like this must be taken; preemptive strikes are necessary in securing our safety. As the old adage goes, it’s better to be safe than sorry. Some worry about lack of concrete evidence, but I feel Israel needs to follow former Vice President Dick Cheney’s 1 percent doctrine, which states that “even if there’s just a one percent chance of the unimaginable coming due, act as if it is a certainty… it’s about response.”
In addition to working on its nuclear program, Iran recently positioned warships in the Red Sea, near the Suez Canal, in an attempt to provoke Israel.
After learning of this, Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said to a group of American Jewish leaders that the voyage “proves that the self-confidence and chutzpah of the Iranians are growing from day to day.” I must agree, which is why I support taking direct and decisive action against Iran. One can only pray that Mr. Lieberman and his right-wing party, Yisrael Beiteinu, can become the majority in the Israeli government.
Mr. Lieberman summed up his speech by saying, “To my regret, the international community is not showing readiness to deal with the recurring Iranian provocations.” I hope that we prove his assertion wrong by speaking up and showing that he has our support against this Iranian threat.
