Iran
-
Europe
’s blood for oil
By Wolfgang Bruno
Before and during the recent
Iraq
war, many Europeans demonstrated against the US-led war, under the slogan
“No blood for oil.” There were legitimate reasons for questioning the
war, especially the well-founded fear that it would enable the
establishment of an Iraqi Islamic theocracy, using Western blood and
money. What few of these protesting Europeans were willing to talk about,
however, was that their own nations are dealing in “blood for oil”
every single day. Europe is in fact more dependent upon Middle
Eastern oil than the
USA
is. Disgracefully, Europe is engaged in a continuing “dialog” with the
Islamic clerics in
Iran
, continuing despite all the suffering that brutal regime has caused and is
still causing. As long as this “dialog” continues, the
European Union’s claims of being a champion of humanitarian rights ring
hollow, and she begins to resemble a prostitute who busily plies her trade
while lecturing everyone else on virtue and chastity. European leaders
defend their dealings with the mullahs by saying that they hope to improve
Iran
’s human rights situation by engaging
with reformist elements in
Iran
. However, if this strategy gives little effect, it is essentially nothing
more than appeasement.
Let’s face it: There are no “reformists” in the Iranian
establishment. Despite Nobel Peace Prize winner Shirin
Ebadi’s claims, the problem in
Iran
is essentially Islam itself. Ayathollah
Khomeini was merely following the example set by Muhammad
himself when Khomeini stated that the “Quran says: kill, imprison! Why
are you only clinging to the part that talks about mercy? Mercy is against
God”; and, “We need a Khalifa (leader of Islamic state) who would chop
hands, cut throat, stone people.” Khomeini was not an “extremist”;
he was an honest Muslim. The much-talked-about power struggle between
“Modernist” President Khatami, who received a large majority of the
votes in both previous elections, and “Hardliners” such as the Supreme
Leader and real power holder Khamenei,
is a hoax. Genuine reformists, secularists and modernists are not allowed
to run for President in
Iran
at all, as all candidates have to be screened and approved for their
Islamic credentials and their commitment to the Islamic Republic by the
conservative Guardian Council. The “struggle” should be best viewed as
a “Good cop, bad cop” taqiyya
game, intended to fool both Western and Iranian audiences. As such, the
scheme has had some success. It has so far prevented a counter-revolution,
and has provided European nations with an excuse for dealing with the
mullahs. Perhaps it’s time we realize that some things are beyond
repair. The Islamic Regime in
Iran
cannot be reformed, it can only be removed. Can the EU’s External
Relations Commissioner Chris
Patten explain to the parents of the 16 year old girl who was hanged
in public for her sharp
tongue what tangible results his “dialog” has produced so far? Or
the 14
year old boy who died after receiving 85 lashes for breaking his
Ramadan fast? Reporters
Without Borders calls
Iran
“the biggest prison for journalists in the
Middle East
”.
It must be frustrating for Iranians to watch while
Europe
is dealing with their oppressors, and easy for them to become resentful
and angry. Like the Israelis, though, they shouldn’t waste too much time
and energy on anger at
Europe
. “Eurabia” will eventually pay for her sins. It is perfectly
conceivable that Europe a generation or two from now may have greater
trouble with Islamic extremism than Iran, and almost certain that suicide
bombers and terrorism will be as common in Paris, London and Berlin as
they are in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem today. In Indian religions it’s
called “karma”, meaning that the fruits of your actions will sooner or
later catch up with you. Westerners more familiar with a Judeo-Christian
way of thinking might say that if you make a deal with the devil, don’t
be too surprised when he comes to collect his due. Europeans seem set to
learn this the hard way, unless we finally decide to grow some spine.
Sometimes it is easy to ignore what is morally right, and do what is best
for your wallet and your own selfish interests. There may, however, be
occasions where these two perspectives overlap. From a moral point of
view, the right thing for Europeans to do is to help Iranians get rid of
that barbaric and oppressive regime. This also happens to be in our own
best interest. The current wave of Islamic radicalism has been closely
tied to the history of the Islamic Republic in
Iran
, and the Iranians have been funding foreign terror groups from Hamas and
Hezbollah to Iraqi Jihadis. Bringing down the regime installed by Khomeini
will deal a severe blow to the international movement of political Islam,
and thus to the very forces that are increasingly threatening
Europe
itself. At the very least, we should cut off all diplomatic and trade
relations with the Iranian regime.
Sanctions may work in certain conditions, but they take time to produce
results. Sadly, this is time that we may no longer have. With
Iran
’s nuclear weapon’s program continuing at full speed while EU leaders
such as Javier
Solana are bending over in appeasement or even considering security
cooperation with
Iran
, the situation becomes a lot more volatile. A nuclear war with the
Soviet Union
was averted because the Communist ideology of our enemy, despite being
flawed and utopian, was about creating a better society here on earth, and
the fact that the Russians loved their children, too, to paraphrase pop
artist Sting. Islamists in
Iran
or elsewhere do not fit into this pattern. Leading mullahs like Rafsanjani
have repeatedly made it clear that they are willing to sacrifice huge
numbers of their own people, as long as they can hit their enemies. Most
Europeans don’t seem to understand the implications of the fact that
Iran
now has
nuclear-capable missiles that can reach parts
of
Europe
. A regime that shows such a callous disregard for its own children
certainly won’t spare too many thoughts for the lives of others.
Therefore, a regime with this mentality cannot under any circumstances be
allowed to acquire nuclear weapons. This must be prevented at all costs,
including the option of armed strikes against nuke facilities inside
Iran
. Iranians may not be happy about the idea, but the brutal truth is that
unless this is done, the Islamic regime may very well drag their nation
into a nuclear war, with
Israel
or some other nation.
In an age where dark clouds are gathering over what looks like a global
ideological battle lasting for decades, the future of Western democracy is
closely tied to the future of the Islamic Republic in
Iran
. The good news is that large segments of the Iranian population have
become deeply disillusioned with Islamism, or indeed with Islam itself.
Iran
now could prove much more fertile ground for liberal democracy than
Iraq
. A secular
Iran
, experiencing a post-Islamic Renaissance, could tip the scales in favor
of freedom in other nations, too. And Iranians will remember who stood by
them -- and who, in contrast, made deals with their oppressors. The time
has come for Europeans to choose
sides, and reject appeasement of Islamists both in
Tehran
and in
Europe
itself. Failing to do so could cost our own children dearly.
Wolfgang Bruno is a European author, writing a book about the
Internet movement of ex-Muslims. All of Bruno's essays can be republished
and reproduced for free by anybody who wants to.
|