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People ask when the conflict with Iran will be over.
But the Iran conflict is merely a continuation of the 1,400-year war between contradictory cultures. From Rudyard Kipling's 1889 poem:
"East is East and West is West, and never the twain shall meet."
The East-West divide pits Western beliefs in Natural Rights and freedom of conscience against Islamic (Sharia) Law - which forbids both.
The current conflict is simply the latest salvo in Islam's war against everything non-Islamic. (The word "Islam" means "to submit".) Since the early 7th century, Islam has pushed its fundamental teachings of violent conquest, submission to religious authority (Sharia), and enslavement or elimination of non-believers (Kafir).
Some 1,200 years ago, Islam had militarily conquered everything from North Africa to India, and much of Southern Europe before being stopped by Charles Martel in France. Later, the Ottoman Caliphate enslaved millions within their empire, including the Slavic peoples of Eastern Europe (hence the word "slave"). Europe was finally saved when Islam was beaten back by Sobieski in Vienna, and by the Christian fleet at Lepanto.
Muslims also ran the African slave trade, so perhaps they should pay reparations.
However, the Islamic world has a major schism within it -- the 1,350-year-old war between Sunni and Shiite sects, who apparently despise each other as much as they despise non-Muslims.
The leading cause of death among Muslims is other Muslims. Iran has executed 40,000 (and climbing) of its own people in the past year. Hamas is executing thousands of Gazans who opposed Hamas rule in Gaza. Nearly 700,000 died in Syria's Sunni-Shiite civil war. Saddam Hussein's Sunnis in Iraq murdered hundreds of thousands of Shiites. The list goes on.
But the West has its own schism: the assault by the Left (socialists / communists) which - like Islam - denies Natural Rights and demands submission to the socialist State. Socialism murdered at least 25 million in Europe to insure such submission.
There is a distinct similarity between the Left's subjugation of the masses to the totalitarian Socialist State, and Islam's subjugation of the masses to the totalitarian Islamic State. Their common opposition to individual freedom has spawned today's Red-Green alliance wherein Leftists and Islamists have joined forces to attack our tradition of Natural Rights and freedom of conscience.
But the Red-Green alliance is inherently unstable: Under Leftist rule, all religions (including Islam) would be crushed. Under Islamic rule, all Infidels (like Leftists) would be crushed. Today they join forces to destroy the West. Tomorrow, they kill each other.
The Islamist assault on the US by Sunnis (Al Qaeda) included:
-- World Trade Center bombing (1993).
-- Khobar towers bombing (1996).
-- US Embassy Tanzania bombing (1998).
-- US Embassy Kenya bombing (1998).
-- USS Cole bombing (2000).
Those attacks occurred during the Clinton Administration, but Clinton did nothing beyond lobbing a few cruise missiles at a pile of unoccupied rocks in Afghanistan. Bin Laden saw the US as a paper tiger (his words) when we cut and ran from Somalian peacekeeping operations (Blackhawk Down) in 1993.
Islamic militants were emboldened by Clinton's reticence.
A recently declassified US Government document entitled "Bin Ladin's Location and Intentions" (Sept 10, 1998) shows that the Clinton Administration was forewarned of a major attack – but did not act. Bin Laden was allowed to leave Sudan and establish Al Qaeda headquarters in Afghanistan, from which he organized the 9/11 attacks.
Which brings us to the current conflict in Iran, where the ruling Shiite Mullahs have openly declared "Death to America" since 1979. The Apocalyptic Shiites who control Iran believe martyrdom is their ticket to those 72 virgins and paradise. (They don't say what women martyrs get.)
Now, consider what was known about Iran's nuclear weapons program last year: (a) The UN International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) concluded Iran had enriched over 400 kg of uranium to 60% purity, well beyond the 5% needed for energy programs, and (b) Iran was only weeks/months away from purifying it to weapons-grade (90%). (c) Iran would have already achieved a nuclear weapon if not for the Stuxnet operation (2008) that destroyed their uranium processing capabilities and set them back 10 years. (d) Iran could easily reach Europe with ballistic missiles – proven by their missile strike on Diego Garcia.
Of course, a simple dirty bomb of 60% enriched uranium delivered by boat could render any US coastal city unusable for thousands of years. Ballistic missiles are not required for Jihad.
So, ask yourself:
-- Would 9/11 have happened had Clinton pre-empted Al Qaeda like Trump pre-empted Iran?
-- What would be the price of oil if the Apocalyptic Mullahs got their nukes?
-- What would be the price of oil had Kamala Harris won, and continued the Biden policies of choking US oil production?
-- Will the Red-Green alliance of Islamists and Leftists destroy the U.S.?
Go ahead. Roll the dice.
Michael Dee is a Silver Creek resident while Scott Axelson resides in Jamestown.