New York Sun: That Wasn't A Peace Overture; Iran Declared War
It seems that Stephen Adams assessment is starting to gain a bit of steam. The New York Sun's editorial guys put this together today. (HT: Charles Johnson)
President Ahmadinejad's letter to President Bush, widely interpreted as a peaceful overture, is in fact a declaration of war. The key sentence in the letter is the closing salutation. In an eight-page text of the letter being circulated by the Council on Foreign Relations, it is left untranslated and rendered as "Vasalam Ala Man Ataba'al hoda." What this means is "Peace only unto those who follow the true path."
It is a phrase with historical significance in Islam, for, according to Islamic tradition, in year six of the Hejira - the late 620s - the prophet Mohammad sent letters to the Byzantine emperor and the Sassanid emperor telling them to convert to the true faith of Islam or be conquered. The letters included the same phrase that President Ahmadinejad used to conclude his letter to Mr. Bush. For Mohammad, the letters were a prelude to a Muslim offensive, a war launched for the purpose of imposing Islamic rule over infidels.
In my opinion, they declared war on the United States the moment they started interfering in Iraq. They have sent men, munitions, weapons, and funds to the terrorists we are fighting over there. Essentially, they jumped in on an ongoing battle, and that doesn't excuse them from being targeted. I'm disappointed in the administration not coming out with a public statement warning Iran that if they don't knock it off, we're going to respond, and it isn't going to be pretty. the first thing that goes will be their nuclear sites. Tehran would be a part of target package #2. Iran proclaims that is "wants peace" with the West, but it's a ruse. It's a gambit as old as the game of chess, and I'm hoping the administration doesn't fall for it.
The attempts at diplomacy are admirable. we must do something than run off to war everytime something goes hinky around the world. But there is a point where we and our allies have to agree that diplomacy won't work, and I feel we're almost there. I'll give the EU their couple of weeks to figure out what sort of "carrot-and-stick" diplomacy they'd like to try, but in the end I doubt it'll work. Iran will flat-out refuse to give up their enrichment program, and thet brings us back to where we are now.
We are accusing Iran of enriching material to create nuclear weapons. We know this to our very core, and it comes from not only their rhetoric, but their shiftiness in dealing with the international community. They refuse to allow a set of unbiased observers from Europe watch their nuclear work. They refuse to let the IAEA in, and has demanded that the IAEA disconnect its surveillance of their facilities. They have basically told the UN where it can go, and how fast to pound sand when they arrive. Now the president has an 18 page letter that basically tells him, in no uncertain temrs, convert or die.
LOL. Yeah, that's the way to win friends and influence people.
But if that is the case, then it is time for the US to start gearing up again. We will have to deal with Iran, militarily. And I know that's got a lot of people's knickers in a twist, but I'm not an optimist when it comes to unhinged, nutter religious fanatics like Ahmadinejad. I've been around too long, and seen too many of these despots continue to lead the world around by the nose and no one wants to do anything about it.
You can bet there will be plenty of caterwauling the day Iran unveils it's first nuclear weapon (and chances are it will be being fueled during the unveiling, and the ceremony's climax will be its launch at Israel). I know that nuts like DailyKos and the Kos-kiddies will drag out the "chickenhawk" arguments when we start calling for military action. Let them. (For the record, I respect Markos' service to the nation. But he no longer wears the uniform, disdains the military any chance he has, and my general opinion of him is shared by many on the center-right of the blogosphere: He needs to STFU.)
But mark my words, Iran will not be reasoned with. They want capitulation, not carrots. They want Israel gone, not a peaceful coexistence with it and the West. And Ahmadinejad is marching towards this overblown idea he has that he and he alone will usher in the 12th Imam. THAT, above all else, is what makes him such a dangerous man, and why we must deal with him decisively. Time is of the essence, and its a commodity we are running short of.
Publius II
It seems that Stephen Adams assessment is starting to gain a bit of steam. The New York Sun's editorial guys put this together today. (HT: Charles Johnson)
President Ahmadinejad's letter to President Bush, widely interpreted as a peaceful overture, is in fact a declaration of war. The key sentence in the letter is the closing salutation. In an eight-page text of the letter being circulated by the Council on Foreign Relations, it is left untranslated and rendered as "Vasalam Ala Man Ataba'al hoda." What this means is "Peace only unto those who follow the true path."
It is a phrase with historical significance in Islam, for, according to Islamic tradition, in year six of the Hejira - the late 620s - the prophet Mohammad sent letters to the Byzantine emperor and the Sassanid emperor telling them to convert to the true faith of Islam or be conquered. The letters included the same phrase that President Ahmadinejad used to conclude his letter to Mr. Bush. For Mohammad, the letters were a prelude to a Muslim offensive, a war launched for the purpose of imposing Islamic rule over infidels.
In my opinion, they declared war on the United States the moment they started interfering in Iraq. They have sent men, munitions, weapons, and funds to the terrorists we are fighting over there. Essentially, they jumped in on an ongoing battle, and that doesn't excuse them from being targeted. I'm disappointed in the administration not coming out with a public statement warning Iran that if they don't knock it off, we're going to respond, and it isn't going to be pretty. the first thing that goes will be their nuclear sites. Tehran would be a part of target package #2. Iran proclaims that is "wants peace" with the West, but it's a ruse. It's a gambit as old as the game of chess, and I'm hoping the administration doesn't fall for it.
The attempts at diplomacy are admirable. we must do something than run off to war everytime something goes hinky around the world. But there is a point where we and our allies have to agree that diplomacy won't work, and I feel we're almost there. I'll give the EU their couple of weeks to figure out what sort of "carrot-and-stick" diplomacy they'd like to try, but in the end I doubt it'll work. Iran will flat-out refuse to give up their enrichment program, and thet brings us back to where we are now.
We are accusing Iran of enriching material to create nuclear weapons. We know this to our very core, and it comes from not only their rhetoric, but their shiftiness in dealing with the international community. They refuse to allow a set of unbiased observers from Europe watch their nuclear work. They refuse to let the IAEA in, and has demanded that the IAEA disconnect its surveillance of their facilities. They have basically told the UN where it can go, and how fast to pound sand when they arrive. Now the president has an 18 page letter that basically tells him, in no uncertain temrs, convert or die.
LOL. Yeah, that's the way to win friends and influence people.
But if that is the case, then it is time for the US to start gearing up again. We will have to deal with Iran, militarily. And I know that's got a lot of people's knickers in a twist, but I'm not an optimist when it comes to unhinged, nutter religious fanatics like Ahmadinejad. I've been around too long, and seen too many of these despots continue to lead the world around by the nose and no one wants to do anything about it.
You can bet there will be plenty of caterwauling the day Iran unveils it's first nuclear weapon (and chances are it will be being fueled during the unveiling, and the ceremony's climax will be its launch at Israel). I know that nuts like DailyKos and the Kos-kiddies will drag out the "chickenhawk" arguments when we start calling for military action. Let them. (For the record, I respect Markos' service to the nation. But he no longer wears the uniform, disdains the military any chance he has, and my general opinion of him is shared by many on the center-right of the blogosphere: He needs to STFU.)
But mark my words, Iran will not be reasoned with. They want capitulation, not carrots. They want Israel gone, not a peaceful coexistence with it and the West. And Ahmadinejad is marching towards this overblown idea he has that he and he alone will usher in the 12th Imam. THAT, above all else, is what makes him such a dangerous man, and why we must deal with him decisively. Time is of the essence, and its a commodity we are running short of.
Publius II
posted by Syd And Vaughn | 2:47 PM
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