Posted on 02/15/2005 7:21:27 PM PST by WarrenC
My friend Michael is telling us that the Battle of Fallujah was more important than we have been led to believe by the media.
Our victory in Fallujah has had enormous consequences, first of all because the information we gathered there has made it possible to capture or kill considerable numbers of terrorists and their leaders. It also sent a chill through the spinal column of the terror network, because it exposed the lie at the heart of their global recruitment campaign. As captured terrorists have told the region on Iraqi television and radio, they signed up for jihad because they had been told that the anti-American crusade in Iraq was a great success, and they wanted to participate in the slaughter of the Jews, crusaders, and infidels. But when they got to Iraq - and discovered that the terrorist leaders immediately confiscated their travel documents so that they could not escape their terrible destiny - they saw that the opposite was true. The slaughter - of which Fallujah was the inescapable proof - was that of the jihadists at the hands of the joint coalition and Iraqi forces.
Thirdly, the brilliant maneuvers of the Army and Marine forces in Fallujah produced strategic surprise. The terrorists expected an attack from the south, and when we suddenly smashed into the heart of the city from the north, they panicked and ran, leaving behind a treasure trove of information, subsequently augmented by newly cooperative would-be martyrs. Above all, the intelligence from Fallujah - and I have this from military people recently returned from the city - documented in enormous detail the massive involvement of the governments of Syria and Iran in the terror war in Iraq. And the high proportion of Saudi "recruits" among the jihadists leaves little doubt that the folks in Riyadh are, at a minimum, not doing much to stop the flow of fanatical Wahhabis from the south.
Thus, the great force of the democratic revolution is now in collision with the firmly rooted tyrannical objects in Tehran, Damascus, and Riyadh. In one of history's fine little ironies, the "Arab street," long considered our mortal enemy, now threatens Muslim tyrants, and yearns for support from us. That is our immediate task.
What Brother Ledeen calls for in this article is a national referendum in Iran that asks a simple question: "Do you want an Islamic republic?" Fair enough. But how can such a thing be accomplished? Michael makes the following suggestions:
Send Lech Walesa and Vaclav Havel to supervise the vote. Let the contending parties compete openly and freely, let newspapers publish, let radios and televisions broadcast, fully supported by the free nations. If the mullahs accept this gauntlet, I have every confidence that Iran will be on the path to freedom within months. If, fearing a massive rejection from their own people, the tyrants of Tehran reject a free referendum and reassert their repression, then the free nations will know it is time to deploy the full panoply of pressure to enable the Iranians to gain their freedom.
I will add one of my own. I think the blogosphere should devote itself to this, make the call for a democratic referendum in Iran one of our top priorities. We have been accused of late (falsely, I believe) of being a destructive force, of tearing things down like a mob. Surely, the call for a referendum in Iran is not that. It is the promotion of democracy at its purest. Bloggers on all sides of our political spectrum should be able to get behind that. I'm in.
bump for later read
This is delusional. No way the clerics in Iran allow anything like this. Might as well call for free elections in Cuba.
"I think the blogosphere should devote itself to this, make the call for a democratic referendum in Iran one of our top priorities. "
Hear! Hear!
PONG
A lot of things in recent history have been considered delusional - see "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!" The point, as I understand it, isn't that the mullahs will respond positively to the idea, but that it is a way of applying pressure. And I happened to think of Cuba when I read this and calling for a similar referendum there would be a fine idea IMO.
Probably a good view on momentum and intel gained from Fallujah, but I want some of what he was on while imagining the Blogger - Lech Walesa alliance for Iranian referendums.
It's just wishful thinking by a blogger.
The race is on in Iran whether a popular revolution will succeed before they go nuclear. The former would be preferable but is probably unrealistic. It's a shame.
Yeah. I was reading along very happily until I got to that part. Then I felt like I had accidentally changed channels. I'm not sure a fat Polish guy is going to be that motivational to a bunch of Persians. I think they need their own Walesa. Maybe a rug weaver or something like that. And I don't imagine a massive blog movement is going to have a lot of impact on Iranian politics. Put it this way...if I were Iranian, I would just assume anything I put on the internet that the Ayatollah didn't like would be carved out of my backside in some stinking Iranian prison.
This is pretty interesting.
We don't need the Mullahs to agree - just let's make them get out of the way. We can do this - just have to be determined to push until we win. Sooner or later they will cave - they value their own hides more than the freedom of the people.
Freedom for the Persian People NOW!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.