There have
been a variety of ideas about the future of the Middle East with a nuclear
Iran. This religiously motivated state
has proven to be a state sponsor of terror, has ties to a variety of people in
terror groups and has alienated them from the west while aligning themselves
with the axis of evil. Today, we realize
that they may be building a nuclear bomb, which would completely change the
layout of the world. However, just
because we have the concept of Mutually Assured Destruction, or MAD, doesn’t
mean we can allow irrational leaders to gain nuclear weapons.
Iran is a
scary country. Their leaders have
supported so many dangerous groups of people, such as Hezbollah, Hamas and Al
Qaeda. Their blatant sponsorship of
terrorism leads us to believe that they are not afraid of supporting their own
political causes, no matter how much western countries pressure them to do
so. The U.S. and the EU have levied a
number of sanctions aimed at hitting the Iranian economy. The goal of these sanctions is to cripple the
economy so much that the rational thinking of the government leaders will
shepherd them to allowing international oversight committees access to their
plants, and hopefully the cancelation of their nuclear program, with the
sanctions being released in return. However,
despite the serious harm western sanctions have done to the Iranian economy,
they still have not changed their nuclear program, until very recently. This shows that the government and leaders of
Iran truly are irrational, since they are pursuing a goal that has little
return for them at the expense of their economy and country.
Since we
have established the fact that we can classify Iran as being irrational, we can
further apply that to their use of weapons.
Someone who is irrational with weapons will do things such as the
tragedies of Newton, 9/11, Aurora, Colorado, Columbine and Virginia Tech. These people will perform an act that kills
other people while having the belief/understanding that they will not survive
after the event. This concept can be
applied to the leaders of Iran. They
will not hesitate to commit their crime with the intention of not living to see
the consequence. Similar to everybody
who commits some form of terrorism or mass murder, they do so with this acceptance
of fate in mind. Since we have proven
that the leaders of Iran are irrational, and they are irrational with the use
of weapons, we can further infer that they will use a nuclear weapon if given
the chance to do so. Despite the
concept of Mutually Assured Destruction, Iran has continued to build their
nuclear weapons program despite strong pressure from the international
community. Iran would have no incentive
to go through the long and strenuous process of building a nuclear bomb, while
enduring the sanctions from the west if they had no intention of using the
weapon in the first place.
I agree with the prospect of a nuclear Iran being scary and unfortunate. And your analysis on Iranian leadership seems pretty legit, however, there is evidence to the contrary. Recent actions by the new Iranian president has shown rationality in their hope to end some economic sanctions on their country, by giving more information to their Nuclear program and claiming to want to limit that program to only civilian electrical power usage. However, this could also be seen as an attempt to fool western powers that are desperate for political victories internationally.
ReplyDeleteAs well, the power and prominence of the Israel Military, coupled with their fierce nuclear arsenal, I am sure plays a big role in the mind set of the Mullahs in Iran. Fueled by anti-Semitism, and radical religious beliefs, they feel extremely threatened by Israel. As much as their military and nuclear capabilities are vital for their protection they also create a power struggle in the Middle East. The prospect of a Nuclear Iran may stabilize some of the fears in Iranian leadership or probably more likely empower them to be more aggressive. More insight to the mindset of those in true power of the Iranian government is desperately needed to be able to better predict the outcome and therefore work to mitigate conflict in the region.
Iran is an irrational country and them having access to nuclear weapons is a situation that should be monitored by the United States and other countries. While having nuclear weapons gives states the option to use them, it never really is a viable option. It is incredibly difficult to get countries to dismantle their nuclear weapons even if numerous sanctions are placed on that country. In an ideal world no country would have nuclear weapons. It is difficult to completely stop a country from using nuclear weapons but nations should continue to pressure countries like Iran to get rid of their nuclear weapons.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with your take on Iran. They have proven irrational in many instances and rationality is needed when handling weaponry. I believe that in the many instances that Iran has proven to be irrational, it definitely further emphasizes their disregard to the international community. I find it very disgusting that they continue to build and upgrade their weaponry, because as you said they wouldn't build these weapons of mass destruction if they didn't plan on using them eventually. I agree with Stephanie and believe Iran should be monitored by the US and other international countries.
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