During his Jerusalem Post interview of 14 months ago, Mr. Lieberman at least mentioned the need “to encourage the reformist and opposition elements in Iran.” What would become of this idea, were the U.S. to bomb Iran?
To imagine that the Iranian people would react to an American attack with anything other than anger and a reflexive patriotism—both of which would likely benefit President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad—flies in the face of all evidence.
American “encouragement” of Iranian reformists is a delicate issue at the best of times. This reporter, visiting Tehran last month, was struck by the degree to which even the harshest critics of Mr. Ahmadinejad were equally strident in their determination that the U.S. should keep its nose out of Iranian affairs.
I read and hear this a lot. My first reaction is, yeah, that's a good point. Remember how Leftists of all stripes rallied around the country after September 11th? Colorado university professors, Leftist intellectuals, feminists, Islamists, and the denizens of Daily Kos and DU rallied to the president reflexively and have stuck with him ever since in order to finally defeat our evil enemies who experience joy by killing us.
Then I remember that nothing like that happened. I remember worries we'd over-react, arguments that we'd be doomed in the brutal Afghan winter so why bother invading, calls to halt fighting during Ramadan, pleas to let the UN handle it and maybe try bin Laden in abstentia. I remember purported counts of civilian casualties that argued that we shouldn't kill more accidentally than we lost on 9/11. We all were Americans for about as long as it took for the candles lit in weepy solidarity of our victimhood to burn down, flicker, and die.
So maybe there will be a brief rallying effect around Ahmadinehad from any attack on Iran. But in the end, Ahmadinejad will still be a thug oppressing his people and those who are oppressed might actually like him and the mad mullahs knocked down a bit.
And I remember my final objection to this argument for doing nothing. So what if the Iranian people get mad? What are they going to do? Pressure their government to wage war on us?
Iran is waging war on us despite the generally positive feelings of Iranians for America. That sympathy has done nothing to help us in the real world. So what if the Iranians are mad at us for a little bit or forever if we end the ability of the Iranian government to kill our people?
I've said it countless times, it will not make me feel one whit better to know that the Iranian people are really, really sorry that their rulers nuked Charleston.
Iran is at war with us. It is far past the time when we should be worried about pissing them off. And far past the time when we take comfort from weepy professions of solidarity from the rest of the world should our enemies succeed in killing us in the thousands again. That view of the world is the real fantasy here. I thought that was a view of the world that collapsed on 9/11. Apparently not.
