Punched into Recognition

So Ahmedinejad much ballyhooed "punch to West" has occurred. Does anyone in the Free World feel punch-drunk or even slightly dazed? Instead of describing the announcement as a punch, it would be more accurate to call it the latest slap to the collective face of the civilized people of the world. Ahmedinejad has repeatedly struck the cheeks of a slumbering Uncle Sam who is determined to continue his dream of willful ignorance.

Uncle Sam keeps brushing away attempts at reveille by his only true friend in Ahmadinejad's otherwise overtly hostile neighborhood. Despite Israel's meager population and limited resources and territory, it is willing to face down the Iranian blowhard. Realistic Israelis can see the imminent atomic assault on their country. The primary factor impeding the Israels' proactive elimination of Iran's capacity for nuclear attacks lie in hope that other civilized nations will find a way to halt the threat of attacks originating from Iran. Up to this date, no member of the Free World has demonstrated any determination to stop the jihadis in Iran from gaining means to propagate Islam through nuclear weapons. Nuclear-armed jihadis will afford the free people of the world the same options they have always proposed: convert to Islam, accept inferior status including paying protection money or die at the hands of the savages.

Perhaps, the popular uprisings in Iran have convinced leaders of the civilized nations that the Islamic regime and its nuclear weapons program are teetering on collapse. The line of reasoning follows: "Why bother to provoke the Iranian regime when, by ignoring it, its oppressed citizens will soon topple it? A bellicose response to Ahmadinejad would just give him a rallying cry against the infidels."
One could be tempted to support those rallying in the streets of Iran simply because they seem to view the Islamic regime as a common enemy. Granted, the unrest may distract the regime from reaching its goal of nuclear capability. This view could prove true but no definite list of the objectives of the protesters has been clearly demonstrated.

Anyone outside Iran must wonder about the goals of the demonstrators. Are they pushing for a complete upheaval of Iranian society, including purging of Islam and other Arabian elements of their society? Do they want to abolish the theocracy in favor of a secular government? Do they demand a Persian version of a fascist state like the one formerly in Irak, led by an autocrat who played on ethnic and sectarian strife to wield absolute power? Do they merely seek more economic opportunities and openness with the West? Will they settle for less odious treatment of women, non-Shi'ites and non-Persians while continuing to chafe under the yoke of Islamic totalitarianism? Before embracing the angry crowds surging in the streets of Iran, the residents of the Free World must delve deeper into words and actions of the individuals within the movement.

Will Uncle Sam eventually rouse himself from this self-destructive slumber? One might be reminded of another allegorical character, Rip Van Winkle, who awoke from his decades-long nap. Unfortunately for him, Rip hardly recognized his surroundings after being unconscious for such an extended period of time. The world had changed noticeably and in ways which Rip did not like. For hope of the Free World, Uncle Sam must snap out of this suicidally somnolent state before his world has declined in a Dark Age of Islamic hegemony.

COPYRIGHT FEBRUARY 2010 BY CHARLES KASTRIOT