Iran and The Future of Freedom

by Dariush Shirazi  

We are engaged in a battle not to rid the world of weapons of mass destruction, but rather to ensure the victory of democracy and freedom on a planet that lingers on the verge of instability, tyranny, and the death of virtues for which millions have suffered, died, and struggled for throughout human history. The stakes are high, and to allow continued mistakes will result in an intolerable conclusion that we must prevent now.  

Claims we have heard in recent years that insist we are fighting a war to rid the world of WMDs have misled many. It is true that the WMD argument has served as sort of a trigger mechanism in a chain of events that many, hope will lead to the establishment of democracy and freedom in the Middle East . However, this trigger, combined with a series of mistakes on the part of the Bush Administration, are leading America further from success and much closer to failure.  

In recent months and years, political activists and certain administration officials, senators and congressional figures have urged the US Government to address the real terror masters in Iran , but for a number of reasons, many of which are hidden, this has not happened.  

Intelligence sources have been warning us for months of the increased Islamic Republic's presence in Iraq via its' clerical and intelligence proxies. History has continuously warned us that the regime in Iran is the most dangerous and repressive regime in the World, the life of which depends on its modus operandi of international terrorism and the auctioning off of the Iranian people's resources to England , France , Germany , Russia , China and several other nations in exchange for securing the mullahcracy's longevity.  

For decades the Iranian people have been fighting the clerical regime in Iran and have been offered little if any support from the outside world. What is really going on?  

Arriving at the answers and solutions to the many questions and problems surrounding the current fiasco in the Middle East requires a more comprehensive analysis than a simple discussion of WMDs and their existence, and also requires that every American and citizen of the world take a closer look at what is really unfolding in the Middle East , and the power politics being played.  

An important principle outlined in the famous "Bush Doctrine" is the declaration that the United States supports freedom, democracy and human rights throughout the world. This is undoubtedly one of the most noble and perhaps most important principles of the doctrine because it calls for the United States to use a variety of means not only to protect societies that are already free and democratic, but also to act in response to environments characterized by populations that are not free, where the people are overwhelmingly silenced and repressed by terror-supporting dictatorships.  

Those who view these principles as unworkable or even selfish, and declare that "Democracy and freedom will never work in certain countries or societies..." or state that "The United States doesn't have the right to impose democracy on others.." are in fact the selfish irresponsible ones who, by advocating a return to the status quo through inaction, indirectly set into motion a series of events which are more likely to lead to increased repression and slavery of even greater populations throughout our world. Freedom must prevail and its crucifixion must be prevented before our endeavor truly becomes futile.  

If one taps the pulse of America today, one is no doubt likely to detect a number of sentiments. There are some Americans who from the beginning were opposed to this endeavor. There are those who wonder why we are still in Iraq , considering the fact that the war's trigger (i.e., WMD, Saddam Hussein) have been defused. The most interesting sentiment is that which is exhibited by countless Americans, many of whom comprise a significant portion of George Bush's base. They are individuals who supported the war not merely for WMD argument, but because they maintain an idealistic vision and hope for the future, a future in which American action ultimately leads to freedom in the Middle East . Freedom in the Middle East would in turn result in a more stable and peaceful world, an increase in global cooperation, and a stronger world economy. Unfortunately the United States is now fighting a war on many fronts within Iraq and has yet to connect all the dots, a crucial link that must be addressed if freedom is to prevail.  

There is no question that Islamic fanatics and their ideology of hate and terror must be eliminated, but we cannot succeed merely by assaulting this "fanatical virus" with M-16s and military might, because there will always be a near endless supply of targets. The only way to destroy this virus emanating from hotbeds such as the Mullah's palaces in Iran , mountainous abodes that house fanatics in Pakistan and Afghanistan , and other repositories of hate throughout the world is to counter and destroy the ideology they profess with an ideology that is far superior to theirs. Our only hope is to establish a system built upon an ideology of freedom, democracy and human rights, which will work to seek out and destroy the fanatics and their barbaric ideologies.  

Perhaps the accepted view of certain American administration officials was that this superior ideology would quickly take hold in Iraq , but it is clear that in the short to mid-term it won’t. In fact it is futile to rely solely on the effective deployment of this ideological weapon in Iraq, because there are a number of players throughout the World and the region who in the short and in some cases the long-term have nothing to gain by the defeat of Islamic fanaticism and the establishment of democracy in the Middle East.  

There are those obvious culprits whose rule will certainly be ended by such regional progress, like Khamenei and his gang of Mullahs in Iran , Bashar Assad in Syria , The House of Saud, and tribal entities in Afghanistan , but then there are also "others".  

England , several European nations, Russia , and China are deeply worried that the Mullahs will be overthrown by the Iranian people, not only because the Mullahs literally give away and auction off the Iranian people's resources in an effort to secure and sustain their evil regime, but more importantly because of the long-term implications that such a progressive overhaul would have in regards to American power and the advancement of freedom. These forces, which are all attempting to halt progress in the region, are using

Iraq as a battleground. And so we must battle in Iraq while simultaneously looking elsewhere for freedom's breeding ground.  

Imagine for a moment that a revolution is sparked in Iran , resulting in minimal bloodshed and the removal of the Mullahs' regime, one which has brought nothing but terror to the Iranian people and has left countless victims in their terrorist wake throughout the world. Then imagine the chain reaction which likely follows. Tens of thousands of Iranian political prisoners, most of whom are college-aged, and countless intellectuals and dissident politicians are released from the clerical regime's prisons and torture chambers. Iranians rush to establish a system that is the complete opposite of that which the mullahs had enforced for over two decades. Liberal clerics return to the mosques and the more hardliner fanatical ones go into hiding, are imprisoned, or are killed by angry Iranians who have suffered greatly at their evil hands. Consequently, the Iranian people reverse a quarter of a century of repression and backwardness, and breathe life into a new system built upon the principles of freedom, democracy and human rights.  

In the weeks that follow, the forces of freedom in the Middle East gain overwhelming leverage over those fanatical forces which struggle to survive after having received such a powerful blow to their masters, who once ruled in Iran , and the billions of dollars in wealth that was once funneled into terrorism and maintenance of the Islamic Clerical Regime is now invested by the Iranian people and for the people. Populations throughout the region recognize that they too can be free and they need not continue living their lives at the whim of tyrants. Regimes from Syria to Saudi Arabia are pressured to reform or are overthrown by pro-democratic forces. Repressed peoples in the Middle East and throughout the world witness the successful establishment of this far superior ideology based on freedom and respect for the rights of all human beings, and now demand a future much different than that which was prescribed by their dictators in the past.  

The future government of a free Iran will be highly critical and wary of alliances and business cooperation with England , much of Europe, Russia and China as a direct result of the ever-increasing Iranian anger and distrust of those nations that have dealt with the Mullahs over the past 20 years. The mullahs' trading partners have focused entirely on exploiting the nation of Iran , instead of recognizing the struggle of the Iranian people, the hell the clerical regime has created, and demanding the regime change it's ways. These trading partners of the Islamic Republic are in major part responsible for the actions of the Mullahs, which include but are not limited to, assassinations throughout the Middle East, Europe and the United States , the murder of more than 100,000 Iranians and the imprisonment of countless others, and presently, the thousands of Islamic regime agents who swarm like bees through the sands of Iraq , ambushing American convoys and instigating actions they hope will give birth to an Islamic Republic proxy in Iraq . So as Americans and citizens of the world we must ask ourselves “Who are the real allies of humanity in our endeavor for freedom?” The answer is quite sobering, and to some it may even be a bit shocking, but as human beings who exist now, in this moment and no other, we must accept the truth. Our duty cannot and must not be to the self-serving nature of our primitive selves, but rather we must act now, for those who have already passed while enduring in this struggle and for those who are now chained in silent bondage. The question is not whether there were weapons of mass destruction, but rather, do you support freedom for all mankind or not. This is a question that all the world leaders must answer, for no government is exempt from answering to truth and to duty. 

If the Bush administration continues to treat Iraq as though the dynamics at play within that country occur only in a vacuum rather than actively addressing and treating the external factors involved, this noble endeavor is bound to fail and there will be no second chance. However, if the Bush administration accepts the fact that the current tumultuous state of Iraq is inadequate for deploying the anti-fanatical ideology of freedom and democracy, and immediately looks toward freedom's breeding ground in Iran, and entrusts the Iranian people with its care, we may never have to see the day when we will all lay helpless at the knees of a planet’s absent of freedom.  

As for those nations that remain steadfast trading partners of the regime in Iran , you still have an opportunity to undo much that has been done. By openly working together with the United States in an effort to remove the clerics who rule Iran and subsequently aiding the spread of freedom throughout the Middle East and the world, all nations and people of the world will certainly benefit. The handful of dictators and fanatical-minded tyrants will be the only ones who lose. So not as Americans, but as human beings, we ask that the governments of all countries who currently have relations with the terrorist regime in Iran actively work with the United States to facilitate the transfer of power from the Mullahs in Iran to the Iranian people, or accept the consequence that their government be held accountable and complicit in whatever travesty lay ahead.  

In the words of the great 13th century Persian poet, Saadi Shirazi,

"Human beings are all members of one body.

They are created from the same essence.

When one member is in pain,

The others cannot rest.

If you do not care about the pain of others,

You do not deserve to be called a human being."

In the words of the great American, Thomas Jefferson, "We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness."    

Dariush Shirazi is a pseudonym of an Iranian-American university student and Los Angeles-based freelance journalist and can be reached at

[email protected].