The grandson of Ayatollah Khomeini, leader of the Islamic fundamentalist revolution in Iran, has publicly stated that he wants the United States to invade Iran and dispose of the Islamic Republic.
“Now we have had 25 years of a failed Islamic revolution in Iran, and the people do not want an Islamic regime anymore.”It’s not strictly necessary to speak to Hossein Khomeini to appreciate the latter point: Every visitor to Iran confirms it, and a large majority of the Iranians themselves have voted for anti-theocratic candidates. The entrenched and reactionary regime can negate these results up to a certain point; the only question is how long can they do so? Young Khomeini is convinced that the coming upheaval will depend principally on those who once supported his grandfather and have now become disillusioned. I asked him what he would like to see happen, and his reply this time was very terse and did not require any Quranic scriptural authority or explication. The best outcome, he thought, would be a very swift and immediate American invasion of Iran.
It hurt me somewhat to have to tell him that there was scant chance of deliverance coming by this means. He took the news pretty stoically (and I hardly think I was telling him anything he did not know). But I was thinking, wow, this is what happens if you live long enough. You’ll hear the ayatollah’s grandson saying, not even “Send in the Marines” but “Bring in the 82nd Airborne.” I think it was the matter-of-factness of the reply that impressed me the most: He spoke as if talking of the obvious and the uncontroversial.
Why have we not eliminated the heart of Islamic fundamentalism: Iran? As I have said many times before, Iran is the heart of the Islamic fundamentalist movement, their nuclear weapons program poses a serious threat to our security, and the people are screaming for the Iranian government to be overthrown. Seems pretty clear to me that an invasion of Iran would have been MUCH smarter than an invasion of Iraq. Then again, I’m not one to associate intelligence with President Bush, or most of our politicians for that matter.
