MILNET Opinion - Iran: A Clear and Present Danger

MILNET Opinion
Iran: A Clear and Present Danger

The U.S. Constitution is pretty clear who is responsible for protecting the U.S. National Security. It is the Executive Branch. Congress is tasked with providing the funds needed by the Executive Branch, and keeping the U.S. military and internal security organizations up to snuff in order to meet the needs for National Security.

There is a legislative and practical application to all this. Anyone who's read Tom Clancey's Clear and Present Danger novel will recognize the term. It can be misused as a means to achieve a political end, or worse, the very presence of a Clear and Present Danger can be ignored.

This is the situation today. The United States Executive Branch has effectively done little but wag tongues at a clear and present danger to the United States.

When a foreign nation's leader says they are going to remove you from the map, you should pay close attention. In the case of Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the rhetoric has plenty of action behind it. Iran is publicly known to provide hundreds of millions of dollars to Hezbollah whose task is to destabilize if not destroy Lebanon, and of course create weekly if not daily havoc in Israel. The network of terrorism support doesn't stop there and Iran is clearly one of the most destabilizing forces in the Middle East. With its reluctant but equally active friend Syria, the Middle East is in turmoil.

What then is the U.S. response? Iran and to a lesser degree but equally important Syria, are a clear and present danger to Israel, and by Ahmadenajad's own admission, the U.S. and the U.K. are also on his target list. Not only are our allies threatened, but we here at home are threatened. With Iran and Syria's sponsorship of terrorism, how long before their paid hit men get really active in the U.S.? Do we have to wait for suicide bombers in Chicago, New York, Boston, San Francisco before we take action?

The Constitution of the United States places the protection of U.S. national security in the hands of the President of the United States. A clear and present danger exists as of this month when Ahmadinejad spoke in public and stated that Israel, the United States and the United Kingdom will be removed from the map. There is no parsing of that statement that cannot be construed as idle chatter. It is a direct threat, just as Hitler made in the 1930s. It is perfectly believable to anyone with a smidgen of brain power.

Yet, no one really seems to be upset. It is as if no one believes Ahmadinejad. Yet he has the power, influence and wetworks boys able to create havoc anywhere in the world, and worse is pursuing nuclear weapons to put on the top of existing and under development missiles that reach out and touch European and U.S. capitals.

The apathy of world leaders is pathetic. The inability to rise to the occasion is worse than in the 1930s and once again the U.S. Congress seems to simply not get it. They have been told month after month about the threat, yet dither about Iraq. Iraq, in the correct context can be seen as a confirmation of the same malady that inflicts Lebanon and the Palestinians inside Israel. Internal bickering that is not resolved, and illustrated in the street with Muslim killing Muslim. No strong Arab political or religious figure will stand up and prevent the bloodshed and thus the danger spreads.

And at the top of it all is the man whipping the nut cases along, the President of Iraq, a nut case himself. Worse than a Hitler, Ahmadinejad's fervor is highly religious in nature. His destructive race prejudice goes beyond simply Arab and Jew, but extends into destroying anyone does not convert to Shiite Muslim faith and swear to the extremist viewpoint of a totalitarian Islamic State.

Once again, we state the fact. This mad man has said he wants to remove Israel, the United States, and the United Kingdom from the map. His isn't kidding around, he isn't idly talking here. This is his plan and he is proud to let everyone know that is his plan. No quibbling. It is a fact.

And any civilization faced with this effective, truly violent personality, who is a leader of a rogue nation, must take action. Waiting much longer is going to be disastrous. At this point, diplomacy is allowing Iran to finish their nuclear design and build the material necessary to build their weapon. Make no doubt about it, that is what is going on. The Iranians will use the sanctions process to stall and delay while they get enough material to conduct their first test.

The only way left to stop this process now is to go in directly and remove the capability. That has to be done first from the air and then from the ground, ferreting out underground research and production facilities. Because while the U.N. inspectors are wringing their hands over publicly known facilities, the secret facilities are working 24X7. And we can't find them all with satellites.

Thus we have the answer when faced with this particular clear and present danger. Israel, the U.S. and the U.K. MUST take direct military action against Iran. The threat is clear, it is publicly stated and the method is the only one now available as Iran uses the U.N. process as a tool to obfuscate their real activities.

Faced with a clear and present danger, the President of the United States MUST prepare the U.S. military for a cooperative invasion of Iran. And we at MILNET do not believe it will take much urging to get Israel to help. What is left is for the United Kingdom to realize the danger to them and join this three nation coalition for survival.