Defeating Islamist Iran

We must abandon the failed policies of the Obama administration that are bringing us ever closer to war with Iran.

My opponent in this race, incumbent Rep. Chris Van Hollen, has been the biggest friend of the pro-Tehran lobby. He has opposed sanctions, and opposed funding for the pro-freedom movement in Iran. This is not just a disgrace: it is a dangerous failure to recognize the dangers facing America. These are policies that lead us directly to war.

In my address to the Iranian people, broadcast by 24-hour Persian radio into Iran, I pledge that if elected to Congress I will be an unfailing advocate for their freedom. Why? "[B]ecause I believe a free Iran is in the best interest of my country, America--and indeed, in the best interest of free people throughout the world."

We cannot appease the mullahs in Tehran, as Obama and Van Hollen have been urging.

 A Blueprint for the future

The only way we can prevent a costly war with Iran is to help the people of Iran throw off the yoke of this bloodthirsty regime.

We need a comprehensive strategy that uses all the tools of power diplomacy. Here are some of the pieces I feel are essential for success.

  • It must become the official policy of the United States to support regime change in Iran. We must abandon calls for a change of behavior on the part of the mullahs, which they laugh off as a sign of weakness. The only “compromise” this regime seeks is one that allows it to remain in power, armed with nuclear weapons.
  • Delegitimize the Islamic Republic of Iran regime in every possible venue. It is outrageous that a regime that murders its own children when they attempt to hold peaceful demonstrations should be allowed to boast of its members in UNESCO and other UN organizations.
  • Put an end to all talk of negotiations. The Obama administration continues to promote the notion of negotiations with the regime. This is an insult to all freedom-loving people. There can no negotiations with tyrants who seek only to haggle over the amount of tribute we should pay and the size of the coffin in which they will bury us.
  • We must provide massive support – moral, political, and financial support –to the pro-freedom movement inside Iran. I believe this is not just the right thing to do for Iran, but for our own nation, and will certainly be less costly in both blood and treasure than any of the alternatives.
  • We must monitor that investment, to ensure it is well spent. Remember the Iran Freedom Support funds of the Bush administration? Rather than help the pro-freedom movement inside Iran, that money was diverted to failed programs at the Voice of America and to think tanks and studies. If elected to Congress, I will conduct strict oversight of how these moneys are spent.

Sanctions against the regime – especially sanctions that have broad-based international support – are a good thing. But we should have no illusion that they will achieve even the limited goal of the Obama administration, which is to permanently shut down the nuclear weapons program.

We must finally understand that it’s not the behavior of the regime that poses a threat to world security; it’s the very existence of this regime.

More resources:

I have written extensively on Iran for the past twenty-five years, including a book, Countdown to Crisis: the Coming Nuclear Showdown with Iran (Crown Forum: 2005). And I continue to work with the pro-freedom movement on the ground through the Foundation for Democracy in Iran.

My investigations into Iran's involvement in the 9/11 attacks led to a Federal Court decision in December 2011 that found Iran "shared responsibility" with al Qaeda for 9/11. If you want to learn the factual basis for this finding, you can read my 150+ page partially-redacted affidavit in the Iran-9/11 case.

Here are a few of my favorite pieces from my Articles archive: