When Carter was President, we watched as the Shah Of Iran fell and a theocracy came to power. The conditions in Iran at that time were not so different than what’s taking place right now. Rampant poverty in Iran and excesses of the government inflamed the people, lead by college students.
In Egypt, we’ve seen attacks on Christians in the last few months, all symptomatic of anti-west sentiment rising in what was a moderate Arab country.
In Iran, the Shah was effectively a King. There was no check on his power and the closeness of the Shah to the American government created huge anti-American tides that washed over the country. The students chose to demonstrate their American hatred by taking the American embassy compound and holding the staff, including the Ambassador, hostage. The leader of that ground of students was the current west-hating President of Iran, Ahmadinejad.
Carter handled the situation about as poorly as possible. The Iranians had no respect for Carter, and he took no action to quell the feelings of the Arab street. The problems didn’t limit themselves to Iran either. Anti-American protests spread throughout the middle east. The icing on the cake was the failed attempt at rescuing the hostages. The one positive outcome was this was the final nail (there were plenty more) in the coffin of the Carter administration.
So here we are, in 2011, with a radical Muslimism spreading from all corners of the Arab world, anti-Christian violence, and a leader closely tied to the American government under attack.
I’m not defending Hosni Mubarak. He, like the Shah of Iran, sat in his ivory tower and watched the collapse of his society without action for a number of years. He abused his power and became deaf to the pleas of his citizens. Worse yet ,he did little to interrupt the anti-west/anti-Christian activities in his country. He is now a dead-duck.
So, why should we care. One major reason. Iran is now the biggest fomenter of anti-west propaganda in the world. Others may point to Pakistan, Afghanistan or even Korea. That would be a very simplistic view. Iran uses a good portion of its vast oil money to fund terrorist activities directed at the west. They also are a prime actor in funding other anti-west regimes or create them. One great way to steer the direction of another country is to throw money at them. Hell, we’ve done it for more than a century. The Iranians have been funneling money through the corrupt Afghanistan government, buying favor and influencing the direction of that society. How do we address this problem? We do nothing. And it’s not just Obama at fault here. The Bush administration did little to address Iran’s activities relative to its neighbors, even when it posed a direct threat on American troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. No, I am not a war monger. But I do believe in peace through strength. A few dozen cruise missiles heading towards Ahmadinejad would at least give them pause. Yes, I’m being simplistic, but early firm action is better than inaction.
So, now we see ourselves encountering another unknown. The Egyptian government is being disbanded and what comes in its place could be another theocracy. If this happens, it will be akin to a single-cell creature dividing into two. Another radical Muslim country in the middle east would pose a imminent threat to the west. If Egypt becomes another Iran, and they control one of the most vital and strategic thoroughfares in the world, the Suez Canal, we’re looking at a doubling or tripling of international tensions. It wouldn’t be the first time a war was fought over the Suez, and it wouldn’t be something we could avoid.
So if you’re a peace loving person. Or if you’re worried about the spread of radical Muslimism, you need to be keenly watching what’s going on in Egypt. If our government is not on its toes, a war of global impact is staring us right in the face. Obama’s apologies for America, bowing to foreign leaders, and outreach to the Muslim world, has clearly produced just about what most Conservatives expected; nothing. The middle east is a tinder box and the loss of another moderate Arab government would likely be the tilting point.