Too Little, Too Late On Iran?

National Review Online: Putting Revolutionary Guard On Terror List Is Welcome, But Not Enough

(National Review Online)  This column was written by the editors of National Review Online.

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Two reactions are appropriate to the Bush administration’s decision to place Iran’s Revolutionary Guard on the State Department’s list of terrorist organizations. First, one should cheer. Second, one should ask how much longer it will take the president to resolve the contradiction at the heart of his Iran policy.

One should cheer because the Revolutionary Guard is among the world’s most effective forces for barbarity and chaos. Separate from Iran’s regular military, it espouses the revolution-exporting ideology of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Ali Khamenei (the latter of whom possesses ultimate control of its actions). It has killed Americans gladly, as at the Khobar Towers. Its current specialty is killing American soldiers in Iraq, through Iraqi proxies, with armor-piercing bombs. These things alone do not make it a terrorist group in the precise sense of that term, but its arming and financing of Hezbollah certainly does. Likewise the massacres of civilians that its aid to Iraqi militants has made possible.

To designate the Revolutionary Guard as a terrorist entity, then, is to acknowledge reality. Yet there is something decidedly unrealistic in the idea that the Revolutionary Guard can be separated from the Iranian government as a whole. (The distinctions got even more jesuitical when it emerged that the State Department might not designate the entire Revolutionary Guard a terrorist organization, but simply its Quds Force, composed of special covert units.) There is no getting around the fact that the Revolutionary Guard — including the Quds Force — expresses the will of Iran’s highest rulers. If what it does counts as terrorism, they count as terrorists.

Given their history of working mayhem in the Middle East and beyond (recall, for example, their handiwork in Argentina in 1994), this is an obvious enough fact, and the State Department designation will do little to make it more obvious. It will also do little to hurt Iran — the designation would freeze any assets the Revolutionary Guard had in the U.S., but, as you might imagine, it prefers to bank elsewhere.

What the designation does do is lay bare the contradiction in President Bush’s Iran policy. After September 11, in a moment of great strategic clarity, Bush said that the U.S. would not distinguish between terrorists and the governments that harbored them. Yet his administration has approached Iran — the world’s foremost state sponsor of terrorism — as though it were a legitimate government, capable of being persuaded to adopt positions agreeable to liberal democracies.

On Iran’s nuclear program, Bush has deferred first to Europe and then to Condoleezza Rice’s State Department in allowing years of negotiating, followed by a few more years of negotiating, followed by (wait for it) more negotiating.

Worse than do nothing, this strategy created an illusion that the world was seriously confronting Iran when just the opposite was true. The two Security Council resolutions against the Islamic Republic were so weak as to be meaningless, except in distracting attention from alternative courses of action (e.g., effective sanctions or military force). Iran’s leaders have grown more brazen at every turn — kidnappings of foreign soldiers and proxy wars are now par for the course — yet the Bush administration has remained unable to forge a credible policy.

What one should hope now is that the administration, in its waning days, is making a course correction. The squeamishness with which much of Europe opposes the designation suggests that it fears just this. For a variety of reasons — economic interest, anti-Americanism, and reflexive pacifism chief among them — it would prefer to avoid any bad blood with the Islamic Republic. Most of the U.S. State Department feels likewise. But the simple truth is that, unless Iran’s regime gives up both its terrorist ideology and its weapons, we will never be safe. The president has taken an important — albeit partial and overdue — step toward facing that unpleasant reality.

[pepperp1]

Senior career diplomats are retaking control of key elements of U.S. foreign policy and have begun to assert significant influence as the Bush administration enters its waning months eager to salvage a legacy marred by the Iraq war.

FOR HIS LEGACY NOT OUR COUNTRY


Since assuming the helm at the State Department in 2005, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has installed veteran foreign service officers with more than 200 years of collective diplomatic experience in seven critical posts from the Middle East to South Asia and the Far East.

NOW Israel the US State Department should withhold aid until the occupied terrortries have no settlers living there%u2026%u2026%u2026..

[fredgrad2000]

"Hezbollah did a tremendous positive act to the world in 2006 - Mr Olmert has admitted that they - ISRAEL - were the culprits who started the escapade in Lebanon --in order to possibly get a foothold close to Iran to prepare for the step-over to enlarge their capacity to further the desires [by U.S. and Israel] to invade Iran. If Hezbollah had not been there to defend Lebanon, the step-over would have been possible plus Israel would accomplish their wonder list to achieve control of Lebanon."

WOW AGAIN!!! HAHAHAHAHA - How is Lebanon a step-over to Iran more so than Iraq or Afghanistan which border Iran and in which we have a combined nearly 200k troops? And Hezbollah started the war by invading Israel and taking 2 soldiers captive; Hezbollah regularly shells Israeli citizens with rockets and mortars, even before the "war" started...so claim Israel was the agressor is ridiculous; just like that they are illegal occupiers of Palestinian land that was captured only because THEY were attacked by Jordan, Egypt and Syria 3 times in 25 years!!

[fredgrad2000]

THE U.S. GOVERMENT IS THE MOST FASCIST REGIME THE WORLD HAS EVER SEEN IN ALL TIMES. THE ONES WHO ARE KILLING AMERICANS ARE THE MILITIAS BACKING BY THE U.S. DIPLOMACY GOVERMENT . THE U.S. ARE KILLING HIS OWN SOLDIERS AND IS BLAMING OTHER COUNTRIES FOR THE PANDORA''''S BOX. HEZBOLLAH IS NOT A TERRORIST ORG. THE ARE THE RESISTANCE OF INVADERS OF LANDS. THE KILLERS ARE THE ZIOPNIST REGIME WHO WANTS TO CONTROL THE CURRENCY OF THE MIDDLE EAST.
Posted by V_1618

WOW, I didn''t know they let those in mental institutions have access to the internet. Get an education and then come back; your ranting above is just ridiculous...Hezbollah not terrorists? The "Zionists" out to control "the currency" of the middle east? How are things in Tehran bud? Is your IRGC salary enough to feed your family?

[fredgrad2000]

"NRO, Rush, Fox, et al, should be designated as terrorist propaganda tools and eliminated through the barbaric means they espouse we should use against others..." - Posted by WogerWabbit

As usual, change the subject when its an argument you cannot win. Iran is the leading state sponsor of terrorism and we know they are training terrorists opposed to freedom and with no qualms of targeting and murdering civilians (Mahdi Army in Iraq, Hezbollah in Lebanon, Islamic Jihad in Palestinian territories). Your answer to those facts, is to turn your attention to Fox News and Rush Limbaugh, a cable news network and a radio talk-show host!!? That''s LAUGHABLE!! A government run by apocalyptic mullahs who support and finance and direct terror and who start all their meetings with chants of Death to America and Death to Israel (and Britain now too) vs media outlets who don''t tow the MoveOn.org line...yeah, there''s equivalency there, good analogy. The fact remains Iran is the primary troublemaker in the world and is committed to that course of action - sooner or later, something will need to be done to get rid of the mullahs and bring power to the Iranian people, who overwhelmingly are pro-western, pro-democracy, and against the activities of their maniacal mullah and their Revolutionay Guard instruments.

[brianbwb-2009]

National Review Online: Putting Revolutionary Guard On Terror List Is Welcome, But Not Enough

International Brian Online: Putting Revolutionary Guard On Terror List Is Stupid, But Profitable If You''re Halliburton And Bechtel.

[wogerwabbit]

NRO, Rush, Fox, et al, should be designated as terrorist propaganda tools and eliminated through the barbaric means they espouse we should use against others. We hear so much about the mythical ''liberal'' media, yet hear nothing but militarist wet dreams from these cowardly chickenhawks... the most serious threat to America''s freedom we face today. Let''s see how Hannity handles a little waterboarding, or O''Reilly stands up to some testicular electrical prodding. Now that would be entertainment!

Its any wonder by all imagination what our world would be if the National Review should obtain enough superior clout to turn it the way of their desires. The mumbo-jumbo that is produced is astounding -even weirdly resemblance of those who apparently are left out when reality is an issue.

Imagine the millions of deaths caused by the "wonders never cease" NR if they ploughed head-on into the Iranian battlefield with their ideology that Iran is just a jump off from being a bag of nuts.

Hezbollah did a tremendous positive act to the world in 2006 - Mr Olmert has admitted that they - ISRAEL - were the culprits who started the escapade in Lebanon --in order to possibly get a foothold close to Iran to prepare for the step-over to enlarge their capacity to further the desires [by U.S. and Israel] to invade Iran. If Hezbollah had not been there to defend Lebanon, the step-over would have been possible plus Israel would accomplish their wonder list to achieve control of Lebanon.

Without most people recognizing it, that debacle probably saved millions of lives. Had the invasion of Iran been made possible, the results cannot be estimated but some strategists believe that over 1 million lives would have been snuffed out in the first 24 hours. Is that a game you desire to play --NR.

william j clemons
[e-mail]

[roger_inkart]

There has probably never been - in the recorded history of mankind - a collection of people (the neo-cons) who have been SO wrong, SO consistently about SO much. Yet still presume to speak like they should be regarded by all as THE authority on the subject of America''s military policies in the Middle East.

[roger_inkart]

The only thing that is "too little" is common sense, reason and a sound foreign policy coming from the Bush administration and the NRO. The only thing that is "too late" is the ability to prevent all the damage the White House has inflicted on the nation''s reputation, credibility and well-being.

It''s also "too late" for nearly 4000 US troops dying for the pointless and counter-productive Iraq War.

[v_1618]

THE U.S. GOVERMENT IS THE MOST FASCIST REGIME THE WORLD HAS EVER SEEN IN ALL TIMES. THE ONES WHO ARE KILLING AMERICANS ARE THE MILITIAS BACKING BY THE U.S. DIPLOMACY GOVERMENT . THE U.S. ARE KILLING HIS OWN SOLDIERS AND IS BLAMING OTHER COUNTRIES FOR THE PANDORA''S BOX. HEZBOLLAH IS NOT A TERRORIST ORG. THE ARE THE RESISTANCE OF INVADERS OF LANDS. THE KILLERS ARE THE ZIOPNIST REGIME WHO WANTS TO CONTROL THE CURRENCY OF THE MIDDLE EAST.

[downtowner97]

If an army invades your country, and you do anything but lay down and accept their presence, you are a terrorist. I don''t buy it.

[Razzl]

The American public in its practical wisdom has come to the conclusion that Iran is a weak state that poses no concrete threat to our safety or our interests (at least the legitimate non-imperialist interests) so long as we stay out of their back yard. The public has already concluded that the Iraq invasion was not a legitimate attack on terrorism and that Iran''s espionage there is just the usual small-potato stuff that happens because we are where we aren''t supposed to be. They rightly blame the deaths of our troops not on the Iranians, who are behaving as we expect them to in the circumstances, but on Bush and Cheney who refuse to carry out the public will by withdrawing.

So all the smoke and mirrors offered up by the NRO propagandists is falling on deaf ears as all of the underlying premises behind their anti-Iran campaign have already been rejected. The American public is not going to allow this Bush regime to initiate world war in order to cleanse the demons they imagine so it''s time to move on to concretely working out how to withdraw from Iraq rather than wasting their breath trying to stoke up interest in attacking Iran. NRO would expend its effort better by talking about what kind of operations we should have in Afghanistan after president Obama or Clinton end our operations in Iraq...

[rafterman1]

===spew the false rhetoric that all "neocons are cowards and don''''''''t fight????? Its'''''''' a contradiction, a generaliztion, and in the majority of cases completely false.===

The fantasy of neocons that they are somehow brave because they want to send other people to fight is laughable. They have convinced themselves that because they support the war in Iraq and invading Iran (for others to fight, now them), that has made them courageous and defenders of freedom while people against the war are cowards and appeasers. Well, it doesn''t take very much bravery to volunteer others to fight your war. Sometimes it takes more courage to not fight than to fight.

mbievtea wrote:

"One must wonder, think and consider: can Islamic jihad fundamentalism be defeated without taking-on Iran? It''''s not likely. Iran will have to be faced in order to ensure freedom prevails!"

Are you telling us that to free people, we must first kill them?

Hmmm - sounds plausible - how about we start with all the hypocritical Christians in the United States?

Are you volunteering to go first?

not_a_clue (notblue) wrote:

"roger_inkart at, I couldn''''t agree more the left in this country has evolved into a bunch of "deluded self-interested morons in the extreme" finally a voice of reason here at leftwing central! There foolish self destructive pascifist agenda is hastening the decline ofthe United States! well said roger!"

lol - clearly, you are the "deluded self-interested moron".

By the way - it''s morons like you and your Republicanazi moron of a President that are destroying the United States.

Clearly, you don''t stop at anything in trying to make a dollar - even killing innocent civilians.

Republicanazis support the murder of innocent civilians.

JesusFace wrote:

"Iran has a stupid president!"

and

"The truth is that Iran is a terrorist nation because it does not believe in God!"

The truth is that we have a stupid president - and we have become a terrorist nation under that idiot.

And if God really told him to invade Iraq, then God must not like us very much.

Captured US weapons from Iraq have begun turning up in Lebanon - in Hezbollah hands.

Iraqi Arms dealers are doing quite nicely - thanks GW Bush - great job - may he rot in hell.

[bluestardad]

MORE SUPPORT THE AIPAC POSITION PAPERS BEING PUKED OUT BY THE NEOCONS!

NONE OF THE MIDDLE IS A THREAT TO AMERICA ONLY ISRAEL SO WE MUST FIGHT IN THE MIDDLE EAST TO PROTECT ISRAEL.

THAT IS WHY WE ARE THERE BECAUSE ISRAEL RUNS AMERICAN POLITICIANS!

[feelfree1]

jankebenz,

The idiocy and cavalcade of misinformation from poopaganda rags like the National Review Online and the Weekly Standard appear to be tailor made for you.

Congratulations.

[mbievtea]

One must wonder, think and consider: can Islamic jihad fundamentalism be defeated without taking-on Iran? It''s not likely. Iran will have to be faced in order to ensure freedom prevails!