The War on Terror -
Attack the Head of the Octopus, not the Tentacles
“The war on terror will not end as long as the clerics running Iran are in power. We should hold Iran responsible for terrorism in the world.” – Roger Thoney.
The war on terror will not end as long as the clerics running Iran are in power. Until we recognize this and address it, we will not be safe from terrorist attack and the unrest in the Middle East will not end.
The objective of revolutionary Islamic fundamentalists is to transform countries into Islamic states like Iran is today. The overthrow of the Shah of Iran in 1979 was their first major contemporary success. This Islamic-state movement underlies much of the unrest in the Middle East today.
Their current strategy is to work through terrorist organizations located within the target countries. Their terrorist network includes Hezbollah in Lebanon; Hamas in Palestine and Gaza; al-Qaeda in Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan; the Taliban in Afghanistan; and perhaps more in other countries. They use Israel, the Great Satan (the United States), and “The West” as demons to rally their supporters and expand their support base.
The central command for this revolutionary movement today is in Iran. The Iranian clerics are the opposition decision-makers in the war on terror; and we should take the battle to them. Attack the head of the octopus, not the tentacles. Take the battle to the decision-makers.
The fact that these government leaders are Islamic clerics should not deter us because religion is not intended to serve as a cloak to cover acts of power, aggression, and revolution. When religious leaders assume secular positions of power, they become secular government leaders and lose the special respect that is given to religious leaders.
We can take the battle to the decision-makers simply by firing cruise missiles into Tehran and other strategic targets in Iran on a regular basis, such as one every two hours or so, until the terrorist activity in Afghanistan ends or the people of Iran get tired of being bombed and revolt. Twelve cruise missiles a day would cost about $5 billion a year.
The objective of this strategy is to turn the people of Iran against the clerics and weaken their ability to put down a revolt. We should follow the decision-makers wherever they go, dropping cruise missiles nearby and turning them into pariahs (terrorize the terrorists). We should bomb government offices and meeting places; strategic military targets; police stations; and critical infrastructure such as bridges, power generating stations, electric transmission lines, communication centers, etc. to disrupt the economy. Iran cannot afford to finance terrorists, contain an internal revolt, and defend itself from outside attack at the same time.