Deceive and rule

Stefania LaPenna, The Jerusalem Post:

'The best weapon is deception." This is what Iran's mullahs think; it is their ideology. This belief was first acted upon by the founder of the Islamic Republic regime, Ayatollah Khomeini, who promised that the Islamic revolution was going to bring happiness, social justice and equality.

Unlike what many still believe, the Iranians didn't choose the Islamic Republic. Although there was discontent with the late shah, they did not vote for a theocracy. READ MORE

Khomeini held a sham "referendum" where the people were forced to approve the new regime. Dozens of Iranians were murdered or jailed for voting "no." It's more than fair to say that the Islamic Republic was imposed by Khomeini on a majority which aimed to democratize their country, not establish Islamic rule.

Khomeini's promises turned into a hell on earth for millions. Since the beginning of his regime, thousands have been murdered and jailed; others have been forced into exile. Women have been obliged to wear a veil. Many who refused to do so were lashed, or stoned to death. The Islamic Republic's founder declared Israel and the US to be the "Great Satan" enemies which had to be destroyed.

Today's Iranian leaders continue this deceive-and-rule attitude. Outgoing President Mohammed Khatami has been most successful at this. He was able to convince half the world including a part of the Iranian population itself that he would democratize Iran through "reforms from within."

Yet Khatami was chosen by Supreme Leader Khamenei at a time when the regime was being condemned worldwide for the killings of exiles by former president Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani in the late 1980s. In order to save the regime's face, Khamenei made a secret deal with Khatami and introduced him to the world as a "moderate" and "reform-minded" politician.

The latter has since then traveled in Europe, Japan and the Middle East, speaking of "peace" and "human rights" while smiling and joking with his counterparts.

Unlike the Europeans, the Iranian people soon realized the true nature of "Mr. Smile-and-Deceive" Khatami. During his eight-year term the stonings, public executions and floggings have redoubled. He has explicitly sanctioned such crimes while sitting near Khamenei.

We can see signs of this deception policy in international issues as well. It's well known that Iran funds terrorism worldwide, whether in the Palestinian territories or in Iraq, Lebanon and Afghanistan. Nevertheless, some European diplomatic "experts," and even people from the US State Department, seem to believe in Iranian "good will" when it promises to help stabilize the Middle East.

Unfortunately, the elected president of Iraq, Jalal Talabani, has praised the Islamic regime for  he claims  "helping Iraq." By refusing to recognize that Iran supports and directly funds the terrorists who are massacring Iraqis, the Iraqi government is buying more time for the terrorists to continue their jihad against the progress of democratic Iraq.

WHEN IT comes to the nuclear issue, we also see deception at work.

What have dozens of Europe-Iran meetings resolved? The answer is nothing. One day Iran announces it will halt uranium enrichment, and the next day it says that it will continue building everything it needs to destroy Israel and the entire Western and "infidel" world, including Europe itself, even though our leaders would like to believe we are immune and safe.

The European Big Three (France, Germany and the UK) believe that the best way to avoid a direct US "involvement in Iranian affairs" by promoting regime change is to call for endless negotiations to convince the mullahs to halt uranium enrichment.

The mullahs know how to deceive the Old Continent, and that it works. The Europeans know very well that the Iranians won't renounce their deadly goals. In spite of that, they prefer to prolong the regime's survival as they fear that a democratic and secular Iran will be more US-friendly than willing to do business with the European Union.

The Iranian people have grown sick of the Islamic Republic regime in its entirety. They have made it clear several times that their ultimate goal is regime change first and then a free and fair referendum to determine the new system, whether a democratic constitutional monarchy or a secular republic.

The Iranians don't ask for a military strike. President George W. Bush has declared his moral support for the Iranian people on several occasions. All they need is wider moral, political and especially financial support from the West. So far, Europe is standing with the mullahs, putting its mercantilist interests before human rights.

It is high time to realize that no secret deal or incentive will stop the mullahs' deadly ambitions, which they consider a "divine mission."

Iran is ripe for revolution. It's our moral duty to help the Iranian people overthrow their oppressors. Regime change, not "reforms from within," will speed up the spread of democracy that we are already seeing around the world and the defeat of the terrorist forces in the Middle East and elsewhere. The road to world peace and democratic stability passes through Teheran.

The writer is an Italian activist and author of the blog Free Thoughts (http://freethoughts.splinder.com).

Stefania is a friend of this blog and posts comments here often. Good work Sefania.