This item is available on the Militant Islam Monitor website, at http://www.militantislammonitor.org/article/id/7004
June 18, 2015
June 16, 2015 – San Francisco, CA – PipeLineNews.org – We were recently honored to attend a briefing on the Iranian crisis delivered by R. James Woolsey, former Director of Central Intelligence [1993-1995] and current Chairman of the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies.
The forum was provided by the Clarion Project, a think-tank dedicated to "exposing the dangers of Islamic extremism while providing a platform for the voices of moderation and promoting grassroots activism."
Never one to waste words or pull punches, Mr. Woolsey was quick to propose that the discussion begin with an understanding of the nature of the Iranian regime which he characterized as "theocratic, totalitarian, genocidal, imperial liars."
Fleshing out and justifying the use of such harsh rhetoric:
Theocratic: Iran is a one party state led by a ruthless Shia religious figure [Ayatollah Ali Khamenei] with unlimited executive power and operating under a fundamentalist interpretation of the Shari'a.
Totalitarian: "Very much like the pigs in George Orwell's Animal Farm, they wish to manage every aspect of the lives of those they are over."
Genocidal: "They threaten genocide against the United States and Israel all the time, it's no longer even considered newsworthy, it's brutal, ugly [and] it's Hitlerian."
Imperial: "They are clearly imperial, they control four international capitals counting Baghdad which they effectively control…they are reaching to be more and more imperial, to extend their influence against Saudi Arabia down the Arabian peninsula [and] Houthi Iranian instrumentalities essentially control Yemen now."
Liar: "[It] hardly requires verbal justification…their word for it, taqiyya [Arabic, Islamic concept of sacralized lying] is one that stresses that deceiving infidels is not only alright but recommended. So when one characterizes them with those five words it's not hyperbole."
Though Iran has repeatedly denied it is pursuing nukes, Woolsey stated what most in the West believe, that the regime definitely has, "nuclear weapons programs, it's not a nuclear energy program, it is not just a nuclear physics program."
He then went on to explain that regardless of the nature of any agreement that might be reached between the United States and Iran, it would essentially be meaningless because Khamenei demands, "that there will be no inspection of military facilities."
Absent verifiable inspection of all of Iran's nuclear facilities it would be impossible to determine compliance.
Iran's progress towards building a fission weapon has been relentless, to the point where if left unchecked - as would be the case with any potential agreement - it would guarantee the country will, "have a nuclear weapon within a year or two at best."
In closing, the former CIA Director stated that he doesn't see a path of negotiation and agreement that is workable, that the best that can be done at this point would be to walk away from the table, reject an agreement and then immediately work with the European nations - since China and Russia are allies of Iran - to impose the most severe economic sanctions imaginable [far more strict than the ones which are being abandoned]. This would place the outlaw nation in a very difficult position given its already shaky economy.
In the Q & A follow-up, Mr. Woolsey addressed concerns by many Americans that we should be concentrating on the problems here at home rather than those in the Middle East, in effect saying this isn't our fight as it really doesn't directly affect U.S. security.
He went on to dispel that notion, presenting what could be the ultimate threat and why this is a global problem from which America is not immune.
If Iran is allowed to gain access to atomic weapons they could be placed, via ballistic missiles, into near earth orbit. From that relative sanctuary the world's leading source of terror funding could detonate at will, a weapon over any country of their choosing [America, Israel, Saudi Arabia, etc.] causing a huge electromagnetic pulse wave which would result in massive damage to the electronic infrastructure beneath it.
These extremely high power radio waves [think solar flares] can fry the type of electronic circuits upon which modernity is now almost entirely dependent. In a worst case scenario such an attack could conceivably take down a nation's electrical grid leaving it entirely defenseless, exposing the population to the prospect of no electricity for an extended period of time.
Woolsey stated that we know such a plan is being actively explored with Iran's already nuclear capable partner, North Korea.
The takeaway is sobering.
Without firm action being taken by the West it faces a nightmarish future in which the Middle East's premiere bully-boy could threaten the entire world without actually firing a shot or entering into a direct military engagement.
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http://www.pipelinenews.org/2015/jun/16/james-woolsey-rsquos-frontal-assault-on-iranian-regime.html
This item is available on the Militant Islam Monitor website, at http://www.militantislammonitor.org/article/id/7004