Iran - Europe ’s blood for oil

 By Wolfgang Bruno

Before and during the recent Iraq war, many Europeans demonstrated against the US-led war, under the slogan “No blood for oil.” There were legitimate reasons for questioning the war, especially the well-founded fear that it would enable the establishment of an Iraqi Islamic theocracy, using Western blood and money. What few of these protesting Europeans were willing to talk about, however, was that their own nations are dealing in “blood for oil” every single day. Europe is in fact more dependent upon Middle Eastern oil  than the USA is. Disgracefully, Europe is engaged in a continuing “dialog” with the Islamic clerics in Iran , continuing despite all the suffering that brutal regime has caused and is still causing.  As long as this “dialog” continues, the European Union’s claims of being a champion of humanitarian rights ring hollow, and she begins to resemble a prostitute who busily plies her trade while lecturing everyone else on virtue and chastity. European leaders defend their dealings with the mullahs by saying that they hope to improve Iran ’s human rights situation by engaging with reformist elements in Iran . However, if this strategy gives little effect, it is essentially nothing more than appeasement.  

Let’s face it: There are no “reformists” in the Iranian establishment. Despite Nobel Peace Prize winner Shirin Ebadi’s claims, the problem in Iran is essentially Islam itself. Ayathollah Khomeini was merely following the example set by Muhammad himself when Khomeini stated that the “Quran says: kill, imprison! Why are you only clinging to the part that talks about mercy? Mercy is against God”; and, “We need a Khalifa (leader of Islamic state) who would chop hands, cut throat, stone people.” Khomeini was not an “extremist”; he was an honest Muslim. The much-talked-about power struggle between “Modernist” President Khatami, who received a large majority of the votes in both previous elections, and “Hardliners” such as the Supreme Leader and real power holder Khamenei, is a hoax. Genuine reformists, secularists and modernists are not allowed to run for President in Iran at all, as all candidates have to be screened and approved for their Islamic credentials and their commitment to the Islamic Republic by the conservative Guardian Council. The “struggle” should be best viewed as a “Good cop, bad cop” taqiyya game, intended to fool both Western and Iranian audiences. As such, the scheme has had some success. It has so far prevented a counter-revolution, and has provided European nations with an excuse for dealing with the mullahs. Perhaps it’s time we realize that some things are beyond repair. The Islamic Regime in Iran cannot be reformed, it can only be removed. Can the EU’s External Relations Commissioner Chris Patten explain to the parents of the 16 year old girl who was hanged in public for her sharp tongue what tangible results his “dialog” has produced so far? Or the 14 year old boy who died after receiving 85 lashes for breaking his Ramadan fast? Reporters Without Borders  calls Iran “the biggest prison for journalists in the Middle East ”.  

It must be frustrating for Iranians to watch while Europe is dealing with their oppressors, and easy for them to become resentful and angry. Like the Israelis, though, they shouldn’t waste too much time and energy on anger at Europe . “Eurabia” will eventually pay for her sins. It is perfectly conceivable that Europe a generation or two from now may have greater trouble with Islamic extremism than Iran, and almost certain that suicide bombers and terrorism will be as common in Paris, London and Berlin as they are in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem today. In Indian religions it’s called “karma”, meaning that the fruits of your actions will sooner or later catch up with you. Westerners more familiar with a Judeo-Christian way of thinking might say that if you make a deal with the devil, don’t be too surprised when he comes to collect his due. Europeans seem set to learn this the hard way, unless we finally decide to grow some spine. Sometimes it is easy to ignore what is morally right, and do what is best for your wallet and your own selfish interests. There may, however, be occasions where these two perspectives overlap. From a moral point of view, the right thing for Europeans to do is to help Iranians get rid of that barbaric and oppressive regime. This also happens to be in our own best interest. The current wave of Islamic radicalism has been closely tied to the history of the Islamic Republic in Iran , and the Iranians have been funding foreign terror groups from Hamas and Hezbollah to Iraqi Jihadis. Bringing down the regime installed by Khomeini will deal a severe blow to the international movement of political Islam, and thus to the very forces that are increasingly threatening Europe itself. At the very least, we should cut off all diplomatic and trade relations with the Iranian regime.  

Sanctions may work in certain conditions, but they take time to produce results. Sadly, this is time that we may no longer have. With Iran ’s nuclear weapon’s program continuing at full speed while EU leaders such as Javier Solana are bending over in appeasement or even considering security cooperation with Iran , the situation becomes a lot more volatile. A nuclear war with the Soviet Union was averted because the Communist ideology of our enemy, despite being flawed and utopian, was about creating a better society here on earth, and the fact that the Russians loved their children, too, to paraphrase pop artist Sting. Islamists in Iran or elsewhere do not fit into this pattern. Leading mullahs like Rafsanjani have repeatedly made it clear that they are willing to sacrifice huge numbers of their own people, as long as they can hit their enemies. Most Europeans don’t seem to understand the implications of the fact that Iran now has

nuclear-capable missiles that can reach parts of Europe . A regime that shows such a callous disregard for its own children certainly won’t spare too many thoughts for the lives of others. Therefore, a regime with this mentality cannot under any circumstances be allowed to acquire nuclear weapons. This must be prevented at all costs, including the option of armed strikes against nuke facilities inside Iran . Iranians may not be happy about the idea, but the brutal truth is that unless this is done, the Islamic regime may very well drag their nation into a nuclear war, with Israel or some other nation.  

In an age where dark clouds are gathering over what looks like a global ideological battle lasting for decades, the future of Western democracy is closely tied to the future of the Islamic Republic in Iran . The good news is that large segments of the Iranian population have become deeply disillusioned with Islamism, or indeed with Islam itself. Iran now could prove much more fertile ground for liberal democracy than Iraq . A secular Iran , experiencing a post-Islamic Renaissance, could tip the scales in favor of freedom in other nations, too. And Iranians will remember who stood by them -- and who, in contrast, made deals with their oppressors. The time has come for Europeans to choose sides, and reject appeasement of Islamists both in Tehran and in Europe itself. Failing to do so could cost our own children dearly.    

Wolfgang Bruno is a European author, writing a book about the Internet movement of ex-Muslims. All of Bruno's essays can be republished and reproduced for free by anybody who wants to.