The
Virus Must Be Stopped
by
Dariush Shirazi
If,
for only a moment, we could melt away all the rhetoric about Bush's
military service, failure to uncover stockpiles of WMD, and the hunt for
Osama Bin Laden, and instead focus on the bigger picture of freedom's
struggle in the Middle East and the future of our world, we would arrive
at a very sobering conclusion. The tumultuous history of the human race
has led us to where we now stand, on the verge of a historic moment, a
moment that if seized to the fullest could give birth to unthinkable
beauty, prosperity, freedom and peace.
The
question we should all be asking ourselves is not "What about the
economy, stupid?", or even, "What about the weapons,
stupid?" We should really be asking those questions that remain
unasked, almost intentionally so, such as - "What about the Islamic
Regime in Iran, stupid?" and
"What
about the Iranian people who are overwhelmingly pro-US, anti-tyranny and
begging for a chance, stupid?" Of course these questions are far
from stupid, and in fact the answers to them shine light on many
fundamental aspects of this "War on Terror" and the so-called
"Forward Strategy of Freedom".
As
coalition soldiers roam through the streets and villages of Iraq and
Afghanistan, a grand strategy is being devised and implemented in an
effort to halt the progress of democratization and freedom. This
operation has been launched in the face of America's proposed effort to
achieve freedom and stability in the region, and the operating
headquarters are without a doubt, to the East of Iraq, in the hands of
the Mullahs who brutally hold onto power in Iran. The Clerics who have
repressed the Iranian people for over two decades through their
systematic murder, torture and imprisonment as well as political
assassinations throughout Europe and the United States, have only one
thing in mind. They will go to any and all lengths to maintain their
mafia rule, and they will do this by spreading their virus into all
corners of Iraq and Afghanistan, until the forces of freedom retreat or
until the Mullahs are stopped!
President
Bush speaks of a forward looking strategy of freedom in the Middle East,
and the natural willingness within all humans to be free, but by
rhetoric alone this objective will not be achieved. America's proposed
objective is by all means the right one, and in fact many Americans
would have supported military action against the regime in Iraq even
without the
WMD
argument, but the past is the past, and the people of the world stand
ready, in the midst of a historic battle between the forces of good and
evil.
The
future of the world depends on the outcome of this battle. On one side
there are the Terror Masters, who, through brute repression and
enforcement of a twisted fanatical ideology, control large masses of
land and it's inhabitants. On the other side, is the free world, a world
that grows more interconnected and united each day. However, this
evolution can be broken and reversed. The world's evolving state depends
on freedom for all human beings, and it's unfailing defense, however the
terror masters continue to spread their virus, in an effort to prevent
the administering of the one and only cure, freedom. This infection will
prevent globalization. This infection will prevent peace. In the end,
the successful spread of this virus will destroy our hopes, goals and
dreams for the future of the world. Time is not a luxury we have. We
must act now!
As
witnessed in Iraq, we have found that the cure to this virus is not
found within the bark of some tree, but rather it lies within every
human being. When the Iraqi regime fell, the cure was released after
decades of suppression, and beautiful notions of progress, evolution and
liberty were triggered. However, almost immediately the virus began to
spread through the porous Iran/Iraq border, within vials carried by
thousands of Islamic Clerics sponsored and guided by the regime in Iran.
Through propaganda and violent military assaults they are attempting to
halt any progress in an effort to destroy mankind's cure. They will
continue to spread their fanatical virus, unless they are stopped.
For
the American Administration to wait and fail to act for fear of the
political uncertainties brought about by the election-cycle whirlwind
sweeping across the land of the free and home of the brave is an
outright mistake, and a dangerous one at that. President Bush must set
aside the political storm clouds that now cast shadows over America, for
one last stand, a stand that will most certainly bring about the
achievement of his proposed goals for freedom, as well as rewarding him
with another four years in office so that he may continue his leadership
and sustain current progress.
The
ongoing political circus being played out in Iran has shown that neither
the "hardliners" nor the so-called "reformers" have
the support of the people. Iranians have for years viewed the regime in
Iran as illegitimate, and on February 20th they will show to all of us
how illegitimate the clerical regime really is, by their proposed
massive boycott of elections. The regime will claim that the Iranian
people boycotted the election because many reformers were banned from
participating, a lie they want us to believe. We can also count on the
regime to pay off and bring in bus loads of Iranians from rural areas to
vote, in an effort to show there was no boycott, we mustn't fall for
their tricks. Politicians in America and abroad who have been paid off
by the regime as well as regime-loving journalists will surely twist and
turn the facts, we should ignore them. The regime has been illegitimate
for decades, and has sponsored international terrorism from sea to
shining sea. On February 20th, 2004, the Iranian people will make their
case to the world. We must hear them!
The
cure to the entire debacle and virus that is spreading throughout the
Middle East rests in the hearts and souls of the Iranian people. If
after the February 20th election, when all Iranians declare the clerical
regime illegitimate, we fail to act in support of the Iranian people, we
will have
made
a huge mistake and committed a great disservice to all of humanity.
Everyone of us has a stake in freedom, and its victory in the Middle
East. We must not wait one day more and we must never fail to defend
freedom.
It's
time for one last stand!
Dariush
Shirazi is a pseudonym of an Iranian-American university student and Los
Angeles-based freelance journalist and can be reached at [email protected]
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