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How Did the Fanatics Gain Power in Iran? Ah, more of the same: politicians acting like they know and understand history, the concept of liberty, or the role of government intended by the framers of the U.S. Constitution. Former Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu appeared on the Glenn Beck program several nights back. The fear-mongering was extreme. And while I agreed with some of what the man said, I'm afraid the most important question (i.e. "What's the cause of all this?") was never asked. Let's take a look: NETANYAHU: There's this fundamental fanatacism that is there. It's a Messianic cult, it's a religious Messianic cult that believes in the Apocalypse. And they believe they have to expedite the Apocalypse to bring the collapse of the West. Then later: NETANYAHU: If I had to offer an analogy...to explain to Americans what it is that is so dangerous about Iran aquiring nuclear weapons. You remember those crazy people in Waco, Texas? Imagine David Kuresh with nuclear weapons. Imagine David Kuresh not with hundreds of followers, but millions of followers, with nuclear weapons wanting to obliterate America, wanting to obliterate America's allies, wanting to take over the world's oil supply. If the lunatics escape from the asylum, that's one thing. But they can get their hands on nuclear weapons, that's another. Now that we're in this situation, perhaps these are proper avenues to be going down. We need to assess whether or not Iran is dangerous, and if so, what we are going to do about it. But even more importantly, if we want to avoid these situations in the future and possibly even stave off disaster now, is this question: How did Netanyahu's escaped 'lunatics' get into power in the first place? The cause of fanaticism should be a major part of our discussions concerning the War on Terror. What's the cause? You never hear this being asked. Actually, strike that--you rarely hear it being asked, and when it is asked, the answer is usually something like, "They hate our values." That's a cop out. That's not the full answer. I don't believe that's even a significant part of the answer. There will always be fanatics, Netanyahu's "lunatics." There will always be violent ideologies. There will always be out-there religions and fringe philosophies and hostile worldviews. But these guys don't just spring to power. They have help. They need help. They need fuel, something to fire up the crowd. And make no mistake: that fire is necessary; they use it--the passion, the emotion, the rage--to blind enough people into follower status that they are a force to be reckoned with. This is how freaks get into power. They find a deeply victimized people, a people struggling desperately for a way out. They pinpoint an enemy who, right or wrong, they single out as the source of their problems. And they milk the situation for all it's worth, until they have just enough followers to do some damage. The lunatics would be just that--lunatics--if it weren't for the fuel that foreign interventionism provides. Foreign interventionism breeds hate, costs lives, and injects us into age-old blood feuds. This makes it easy for the lunatics to gain followers. You think people would be strapping bombs to themselves if we were half a world away and not in the middle of their regional vendettas? They wouldn't be able to care less about us. Sure, they may not like the way some American girls dress, or the majority religion of the West--Christianity--but that's not enough to make someone fly a plane into an American skyscraper. Put our armies on their holy lands, arm some of them, fight others, condemn others, give money to others, depose others, disrupt the politics of others, invade others, occupy others, bomb others...and you've just built a road along which the lunatics can sprint to power. Foreign interventionism: the easiest way for a crazy to become president. You want enemies? Keep it up. You want crazy enemies? After a century of interventionism you already have them. Are we going to see what another century will do? I understand Netanyahu's point. I don't want to see Iran develop nuclear weapons. But the main question now should be: what caused all this in the first place? Just read a cursory history on modern Iran--how America disrupted that country's politics, then propped up a brutal dictator, which led to the embassy takeover, followed by our arming Iran's enemy in the bloody Iran-Iraq War...and now who's in charge? The guys who stormed the U.S. Embassy! You think they'd be anywhere close to the center of power in Iran if it wasn't for our meddling there? No way! Thanks to our foreign interventionist policy in Iran, they are that country's leaders!! Anyone who knows anything about Iran knows that a large portion of its people are actually pro-American...but it's the anti-American faction that won out in the power struggle, thanks mostly to the fuel our illogical policies freely gave it. I say again: STOP THE INTERVENTIONISM AND PULL OUT NOW. PUBLICLY CHANGE OUR FOREIGN POLICY AND UPHOLD THE CONSTITUTION. IT MAY TAKE 100 YEARS BEFORE THE EFFECTS OF OUR MEDDLING DIE OUT, BUT IT'S EITHER THAT OR A NUCLEAR HOLOCAUST. If we don't, we'll be at war with Iran in less than 18 months.
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