THE RIGHT QUESTION: DO WE TAKE HIS WORDS SERIOUSLY?

Submitted by Dr. Steve Carol (United States), Nov 1, 2005 at 15:50

Dear Dr. Pipes:
Thank you for the article on Iran. It is most timely, and unfortunately the Iranian President words was given short shrift in the media. I just wrote the following short piece to try to alert the public to this ongoing missile. Perhaps you wish to post this on your web-site. Thank you.

THE RIGHT QUESTION:
DO WE TAKE HIS WORDS SERIOUSLY?
By Dr. Steve Carol

Last week, on Oct. 26, 2005, the Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad spoke before the world press at a conference held in Tehran, called "The World Without Zionism." During his speech he articulated that "The Islamic nation will not allow its historic enemy [Israel] to exist in its heartland."

Do we take his words seriously?

On Nov. 26, 1956 Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev, shortly after bloodily and savagely suppressing the Hungarian Revolution, told the United States and other Western powers: "Whether you like it or not, history is on our side. We will bury you." Nine months later (Aug. 27. 1957) the Soviet Union successfully launched the world's first intercontinental ballistic missile with a range of over 6,000 miles.

Did we take Khrushchev's words and actions seriously?

On May 28, 1967, days before the outbreak of the June 1967 Six Day war, Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser, as he mobilized the armies of the Arab world, declared: "Israel's existence itself is an act of aggression. We accept no kind of coexistence with it."

Did we take his words and actions seriously?

Several days later, on June 1, 1967, Abdul Rahman Aref, the President of Iraq, told Iraqi airforce pilots preparing for the coming war: "Our clear aim [is] wiping Israel from the map…." While on that same day, PLO Chairman Achmed Shukairy was asked by journalists what would become of native-born Israelis, if the Arabs were successful in the impending war? He response was "Those who survive will remain in Palestine. I estimate that none will survive."

Did we take their words seriously?

Since the Khomeini revolution, Iran has traded with North Korea, for both nuclear components and missiles. It is well known that Iran has defied the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and has continued development of nuclear weapons. Despite Western attempts at diplomacy, spearheaded by Great Britain, France, and Germany, the nuclear program continues unabated.
In July 2003, Iran successfully tested the Shehab-3, capable of carrying a small nuclear warhead with a range of 930 miles. Iranian engineers are similarly moving forward with the Shehab-4 and Shehab-5, with ranges of 1,240 and 3,100 miles respectively. Brigadier General Safavi, who heads Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps, declared in 2003 that "Iranian missiles can cause irreparable damage to either Israel or the United States." This is partly blustering. Israel indeed lies within range of Iranian missiles, as do Turkey and Western Europe. The United States does not -- not yet.

With these developments in mind, can anyone doubt the sincerity of the Iranian president?
At the 2005 Tehran conference Ahmadinejad said that the goal of a world without the United States or Zionism, is "attainable and could definitely be realized. ...Our dear Imam [Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini] ordered that the occupying regime in Jerusalem [Israel] be wiped off the face of the earth. This was a very wise statement."

Do we take his words seriously?

Dr. Steve Carol
Prof. of History
Official Historian "Middle East Radio Forum" www.middleeastradioforum.org
Senior Fellow Center for Advanced Middle East Studies http://www.cames.ws/index.html
Scottsdale, Arizona

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