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Fundamentalist extremists

Is a nuclear Islam really desirable



Strong rhetoric has been heard over the past weeks regarding Iran's nuclear efforts and the suspension of constitutional rights in Pakistan. Iran proclaimed a milestone this week, asserting that it had achieved full operation of some 3,000 centrifuges tasked with refining uranium and claimed that soon it would have 54,000 such centrifuges in full operation.

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Peace activists around the world have been excoriating both the Bush administration as well as Pakistan's Pervez Musharaf, for different but related reasons. Bush has been drawing heat because of his bellicose attitude toward the Iranian nuclear program and his refusal to rule out military intervention. Musharaf has been rebuked for his precipitous act in arresting some 25% of Pakistan's lawyers and essentially stifling dissent through force, while assuming absolute power. Even the Bush administration has rained scorn on Musharaf. There is a common thread, however, between activities in Iran and what's happening in Pakistan and that common thread is to keep nuclear weapons out of the hands of Islamic nutters bent on the destruction of Israel and the establishment of a new Caliphate under a hard line Sharia administration. Mahmud Ahmedinejad has never been shy about letting the world know what his end game really is and his assertion that Iran's nuclear program is ultimately engaged in the pursuit of peaceful uses, such as the generation of electrical power is considered to be disingenuous. Rightfully so. Given that Iran's energy needs are currently more than being met through existing resources and facilities, the only logical conclusion that can be inferred from Iran's pursuit of nuclear technology, is that the program has military implications. The current regime in Iran isn't squeamish about killing. In fact, it is one of the world's prime sponsors of terrorist groups, such as Hezbollah (as well as its own Revolutionary Guards) and is fomenting unrest all across the Middle East, particularly in Lebanon and Iraq, where Shiite militias are fighting Allied Forces, as well Sunnis and Kurds. These militias are being trained, equipped and to some degree staffed by Iranian Revolutionary Guards. The Iranian government's avowed goal is to "wipe Israel off the map" and a nuclear arsenal would make that task a snap. Moving on to Pakistan, we find that that nation is beginning to fall apart and the Musharaf government is unable to control large parts of the country, as was written in these pages recently by my colleague Hamid Mir. Large areas of Pakistan, including the Swat region, Bajour, North and South Waziristan are now under Taliban control. The Pakistani government has absolutely no authority in any of these regions and the Taliban is eyeing the possibility of putting all of Pakistan under its control. So Musharaf's imposition of draconian measures is understandable, if misguided. Allowing Pakistan's considerable nuclear arsenal to fall into the hands of an organization such as the Taliban must be avoided at all costs. And while the jury is still out on whether Musharaf's actions will yield positive results or will backfire and create exactly the conditions he wanted to avoid, we in the West must keep our eyes on the nuclear ball. While in the bad old days of the Cold War the doctrine of Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD) kept the nukes from being used, no such checks and balances are possible with fundamentalist extremists, such as the Taliban, al Qaeda or the current government of Iran. They have no fear about dying, so MAD isn't likely to influence anything they do. It is inevitable that at some point nuclear weapons will fall into the hands of individuals and groups that have no qualms about using them freely. Our most important mission right now is to forestall that day for as long as possible in hopes of defeating regimes like Ahmedinejad's or the Taliban before they can acquire those much coveted nukes. Regretfully, some unpleasant realities must be faced in achieving this goal.


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Klaus Rohrich -- Bio and Archives

Klaus Rohrich is senior columnist for Canada Free Press. Klaus also writes topical articles for numerous magazines. He has a regular column on RetirementHomes and is currently working on his first book dealing with the toxicity of liberalism.  His work has been featured on the Drudge Report, Rush Limbaugh, Fox News, among others.  He lives and works in a small town outside of Toronto.

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