As a rhetorician, Ahmadinejad fares better than Netanyahu for getting the threat message across.
By AVI PERRYProtesters wear mask of Ahmadinejad [illustrative] 370(photo credit: REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz)
It’s a fact. The current Iranian regime poses a great threat to the security of both Israel and the rest of the world. The regime’s Islamic agenda calls for a holy war that ultimately ends with the annihilation of the Jewish State. This is not empty rhetoric. Iran’s evil leadership has been tirelessly hammering its way on the road to nuclear status, and many of its high officials - including former president, speaker of parliament and commander in chief, Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani - have mused out loud about the icy arithmetic of a nuclear war with Israel. In the words of the former president: "The use of an atomic bomb against Israel would totally destroy Israel, while [the same] against the Islamic world would only cause damage. Such a scenario is not inconceivable."When contrasted with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Rafsanjani is perceived as being a moderate and a supporter of human rights. Following the latest (fake) presidential elections in Iran, Rafsanjani became a backer of the “Green movement.” His daughter was arrested by the existing regime, and he was told that unless he wanted to end up with the same fate as her, he would be wise to “behave.”As a “reformist,” Rafsanjani is not alone. An even more conspicuous reformist is Mir-Hossein Mousavi Khameneh. Mousavi was the most promising candidate for Iranian presidency, but in the 2009 elections his victory was stolen from him by incumbent president, Ahmadinejad. Mousavi, a former Iranian prime minister, was leader of Iran’s Green movement which attempted to introduce reforms in protest to the elections fraud.In recent debates surrounding the US elections, leaders and supporters of the Republican Party accused US President Barack Obama of ignoring what happened in Iran’s 2009 elections instead of actively supporting the Green Movement’s protests - headed by Mousavi - that demanded the removal of Ahmadinejad from office. While the Republican criticism aimed at the US administration is an appealing elections tactic, it fails to recognize that it would have been no better to depose Ahmadinejad just in order to replace him with a wolf in sheep’s clothing.Had Mousavi been elected as president in 2009, he would no doubt have continued with Iran’s quest for a nuclear bomb, which he himself had initiated back in 1980 while serving as prime minister. He even confirmed his intent to pursue that objective during his own presidential debates. Furthermore, he would have supported Palestinian terrorism against the State of Israel or terrorism against any other state as long as it served the revolution's purpose. He said as much when he referred to British diplomats as spies and again when he defended the kidnap of American citizens by Iranian militants in 1979.However, there is a more imperative argument against rooting for an Iranian president who may be perceived as a moderate by the West: In a state where the top-job is carried by a right-wing extremist, namely, Ayatollah Khamenei , the president can only implement policies as outlined by that Supreme Leader. In other words, a Mousavi-win could have enabled Iran to break the isolation, avoid sanctions from the West, and ultimately advance the country more rapidly toward the nuclear bomb.Thus, strange as it sounds, Mr. Ahmadinejad is a more preferable option for Iranian president than any other make-believe moderate. Devoid of any camouflage or doublespeak, Ahmadinejad tells the harsh truth about the Iranian regime and its intentions. His bold rhetoric has convinced himself and his followers that Iran can defeat America, can wipe Israel off the map, that the Holocaust is all a Zionist plot, and that he is the smartest man after his prophet, Muhammad.Most Americans are unaware of the extent of the danger that Iran poses to the world and as such, they oppose any military action against the regime. Many also do not understand that Iran presents a threat to America’s economy as well as its security. They view Iran as merely an Israeli problem, not an American problem.Mr. Ahmadinejad makes good on issues that Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu has only had limited success — that is, convincing Americans that the Iranian regime is dangerously irrational and that the US will become a victim of its hate-driven, insane Islamic objectives and finally, that it’s high time for preventive action.Mr. Ahmadinejad is also successful in stirring up emotions. His flaming rhetoric, lies, hypocrisy, denial of facts and history, genocidal threats, and his generally annoying demeanor all serve to convince the American public of the ugly truth—that the Iranian regime and its leaders are all evil incarnate. The only effective regime change in Iran is a replacement of the whole system of government with an (authentic) democratic and secular system. This includes the Supreme Leader (and the way in which he comes to power) as well as the leadership of the Revolutionary Guards. Removing the religious minority of the mullahs and the ayatollahs from power is something that the majority of Iranians can only dream of.Replacing one loud-mouth Iranian president with a soft-spoken lipstick-wearing pig would only contribute to a more malignant cancer.
The writer is a talk show host at Paltalk News Network (PNN). He served as an intelligence expert for the Israeli government and was a professor at Northwestern University. He was a VP at NMS Communications, a Bell Laboratories distinguished staff member and manager, and a delegate of the US and Lucent Technologies to UN International Standards body. He is the author of 72 Virgins. For more information, visit www.aviperry.org.
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