Editor's Letter

Tehran's Tyranny

I

ran, the world's chief state sponsor of international ter-
rorism, defines itself by hostility toward Israel and the
U.S., says the early frontrunner for the Republican presi-
dential nomination in 2008.
"It is simply tragic that millennia of proud Persian history
have culminated in a government today that cannot be count-
ed among those of the world's civilized
nations," said U.S. Sen. John McCain of
Arizona, whose no-nonsense, no-airs
personality is downright refreshing in
these turbocharged political times.
McCain, 70, was in Detroit on Nov.
5 as guest speaker at the Yeshiva Beth
Yehudah annual dinner, which drew
2,430 supporters to the Marriott
Renaissance Center Hotel.
When this Vietnam War naval hero
talks about terror, people battling it
would be wise to listen up. The former
prisoner of war is presidential timber for good reason. The
blueprint he laid out for dealing with Iran as Israel's most-
advanced rival is compelling. He spoke with clarity of thought
and urgency of purpose.
"When the president of Iran calls for Israel to be wiped off
of the map, or asks for a world without Zionism, or suggests
that Israel's Jewish population return to Europe or calls the
Holocaust a myth:' McCain declared, "we are dealing with a
possibly deranged and surely dangerous regime."
We can't ignore the impact of Tehran acquiring nuclear
capability: Turkey, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and other neighbors
would respond by strengthening their defensive hardware.
The risk to Israel would spiral.
"The world would live, indefinitely, with the possibility that
Tehran might pass nuclear materials or weapons to one of its
allied terrorist networks," McCain warned. "Coupled with its
ballistic missile arsenal, an Iranian nuclear bomb would pose
an existential threat to the State of Israel."
European negotiators have pitched this enticement for
Tehran to forego nuclear ambitions: broad economic incen-
tives, external support for a civilian nuclear energy program,
integrating into the global community.
No way, says Tehran. It insists on stepping up pursuit of
nuclear weaponry.
"Iran's choice is clear:' McCain said. "So must be ours!'
And it must.

Solving Iran
I like McCain's push for immediate multilateral political and
economic sanctions imposed by the U.N. Security Council. As
much as I consider the U.N. toothless, it still carries some bite
in the arena of sanctions. Congress also needs to quickly pass
the Iran Freedom Support Act, which McCain co-sponsored.
McCain is right: "Every option must remain on the table.
Military action isn't our preference. It remains, as it always
must, the last option!'
Diplomacy certainly must run its course. Iraq has taught us
that.
The only thing worse than solving the Iranian riddle with
military might is a nuclear-armed Iran. Like McCain says,
"The regime must understand that it cannot win a showdown
with the world!"
But that doesn't mean it won't try.

So let's take it from McCain: "As Americans, we also need
to reassure the reformers and the millions of Iranians who
aspire to self-determination that we support their longing for
freedom and democracy"

Multiple Fronts
I applauded along with the crowd when McCain pondered
the increased threats to Israeli security on the terrorist-led
Palestinian front. He said that U.S. support for Israel should
intensify to include fighting equipment and technology.
"No American leader:' McCain said, "should be expected to
sell a false-peace to our democratic ally, consider Israel's right
to self-defense less legitimate than ours or insist that Israel
negotiate a political settlement while terrorism remains its
adversaries' favored bargaining tool."
I hope his congressional urging about Hamas echoed all the
way to Capitol Hill: "In view of Hamas' continued refusal to
accept basic standards of international decency, the Congress
should pass the Palestinian Anti-Terrorism Act!'
This can come none too soon given the radicalization of the
Palestinian people and the sometimes dreadfully ill-aimed
Israeli counterattacks that claim Palestinian civilians, like the
19-death tragedy that happened in Beit Hanoun in the north-
ern Gaza Strip last week. Arab aggression has put Israel on the
defensive. Yes, war can breed deadly mistakes.
There's no mistaking that Hamas is a barrier to peace. Says
McCain: "No moral nation — nei-
ther Israel nor America — can
allow terrorists to chart the politi-
cal course of its people. Nor would
we favor the Palestinian people if
we were to confer our acquiescence
or approval upon a terrorist syndi-
cate that has won elections among
a population desperate for change."
Marginalizing Hezbollah, now a
belligerent state within Lebanon,
is crucial as well to spurring peace
Sen. McCain
along Israel's northern border.
There's also the matter of Iraq. McCain warns, "We must do
everything possible to succeed there; and we should not forget
that the benefits of success would be enormous, for Iraq and
throughout the region." Yet "the road is going to be long and
tough, and it will be costly in dollars and American lives."
If the alternative to our democracy-promotion efforts is a
return to supporting pro-American dictators in the Middle
East, McCain said, the cost is too high. Such an approach has
spawned painful lessons.
We must embrace Sen. McCain's call.
As he put it: "If the despair, the alienation and the disen-
franchisement wrought in Middle East autocracies contribute
to the horrors of international terrorism, we owe it to our- .
selves and the world to promote change" El

0 . What lessons from Iraq can we
apply to Iran?
1— a
Z z Can Israel trust an autocratic
0 0 government?
o. a-

A

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November 16 • 2006

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