John Bolton: Bomb, Bomb, Bomb Iran! Preemptively!

The problem with a preemptive strike is that, if successful, it eliminates the reason for launching it and the future unfolds just as if the danger never existed. This is a particularly difficult dilemma for the leader of a democratic state. Political rivals, inevitably, will blame enemy counter-attacks and economic upheaval on the leader, while questioning the severity and immediacy of the threat. Costs and casualties of war are likely to turn public opinion against the leader.

Of course, pre-emptive strikes were not a problem for the early Romans or the British of the 18th century. Strong nations, with an educational system that produced an informed patriotic citizenry, had no compunctions about defeating all enemies, weak or powerful, by whatever means necessary.

Historically, strong peoples have imposed their will on the weak. There is no better example of this phenomenon than 7th century Arabs. Early Muslims forged their young men into warriors for Allah - Jihadis - certain of the superiority of their civilization and willing to kill and die for their Faith. They conquered and assimilated everything in their path until they were stopped by more determined Europeans.

As an aside, Muslims today have the same powerful educational system that produced the early Jihadis. Oil wealth and unlimited manpower have made Arabia a player on the world scene. Add a powerful Islamist movement and an ideological message that touches the hearts of the believers and you may understand the magnitude of the threat.

After centuries of slumber, Islam is set to vanquish Europe, before seriously tackling America. Even as we speak, advanced Islamist forces, such as CAIR, the MSA and hundreds of Saudi financed mosques have already been deployed in the land, from New York to Los Angeles, from Toronto to Huston.

Liberalism has weakened America. Its schools turn out ambivalent young men without conviction who would rather be assimilated than fight. Young men who ‘feel’ that the advanced civilization they have inherited from their parents, a civilization that has produced the most prosperous, freest nation the world has ever seen, is inferior to the civilization of the “barbarians at the gate.”

Early Athenians, Spartans, Romans and Brits would have understood why Iran must be neutralized preemptively, before it can do the same to us. The Romans were surprised by Hannibal’s daring invasion of Italy at the outbreak of the Second Punic War. The war ended in 201 BC with the defeat of Hannibal by General Scipio. Carthage survived under tough Roman ‘peace’ terms. However, at the end of the Third Punic War, in 146 BC, the Romans, having learned their lesson, preemptively burned Carthage to the ground and plowed it with salt so it would never challenge Rome again.

John Bolton  does not propose burning Teheran to the ground and plowing it with salt (not yet), he is our General Scipio.

Mr Bolton said that striking Iran would represent a major step towards victory in Iraq. While he acknowledged that the risk of a hostile Iranian response harming American’s overseas interests existed, he said the damage inflicted by Tehran would be “far higher” if Washington took no action.

“This is a case where the use of military force against a training camp to show the Iranians we’re not going to tolerate this is really the most prudent thing to do,” he said. “Then the ball would be in Iran’s court to draw the appropriate lesson to stop harming our troops.”

Mr Bolton, an influential former member of President George W Bush’s inner circle, dismissed as “dead wrong” reported British intelligence conclusions that the US military had overstated the support that Iran was providing to Iraqi fighters.

A US military spokesman revealed last week that the elite Quds Force of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards had drafted in personnel from Lebanon’s Hizbollah to train fighters from Iraq’s Shia militias.

Colonel Donald Bacon, a spokesman for the coalition in Baghdad, said captured fighters had told interrogators that thousands of Iraqi fighters were undergoing training in the Islamic Republic.

The main camp is located near the town of Jalil Azad, near Tehran, according to coalition officials.

The capture of Qais Khazali, a major figure in the Shia insurgency alongside Ali Mussa Daqduq, a senior Lebanese Hizbollah guerilla, last year yielded a treasure trove of information on Hizbollah’s activities in Iraq.

“Ali Mussa Daqduq confirmed Lebanese Hizbollah were providing training to Iraqi Special Group members in Iran and that his role was to assess the quality of training and make recommendations on how the training could be improved,” said Col Bacon. “In this role, he travelled to Iraq on four occasions and was captured on his fourth trip.”

Five Britons kidnapped in Iraq are believed to have been put under the control of Quds Force agents after failed attempts to barter the men for Khazali and Daqduq’s freedom.

The importance of the Quds Force to stability in Iraq was demonstrated last week when a five-member Iraqi delegation was sent to Tehran to meet with its commander, General Ghassem Soleimani. The delegation was despatched by the Iraqi government to plead for an end to Iranian meddling in its enfeebled neighbour.