Regime Change: The Only Viable Option

Shaheen Fatemi, Iran va Jahan:

Terrorism has been the hallmark of this regime. Both domestically and internationally, terrorism has been the main policy instrument for the Mullahs. They came to power by destabilizing the previous regime through their terrorist acts, consolidated their authority by terrorizing the population with their mass executions-expropriations and have remained in power by maintaining the dubious honor of having the world’s second highest number of executions even as late as last year. READ MORE

While it has been in the post-9/11 era that the rest of the world has become acutely conscious of the terrorist nature of the Iranian regime, the Iranian people and others in the region have a much longer historical memory of this regional plague. That memory spreads from Tehran to Lebanon and from Paris to Buenos Aires.

Domestically, for the past quarter of a century, no other nation has suffered as much as the people of Iran. As it has been repeatedly documented by the United Nations Commission and other human rights organizations, the women and the minorities have been the prominent victims of this zealot regime.

Both domestically and internationally, terrorism has been the main policy instrument for the Mullahs. Terrorism is generally defined as the use or threatened use of force or violence against people or property with the intention of intimidating or coercing, often for ideological or political reasons. By this or any other accepted definition of terrorism, the inception, growth and survival of the Islamic Republic of Iran ( IRI), as a system, is based on terrorism.

There is no conceivable manner by which the present repressive regime in Tehran can ‘reform’ itself or ‘change its spots’ in order to become compatible with the changing environment in the region. As President Bush clearly stated during his recent visit to Georgia in relation to such societies: “In this new Georgia the rule of law will prevail and freedom will be the birthright of every citizen.” The Islamic regime has been rejected by the people of Iran and faces innumerable problems on the international scene.

The nuclear issue is not going to go away. In spite of EU-3 illusions and delusions, efforts in appeasing the current Iranian regime will not bear any fruit. These efforts are doomed to failure because they are based on short-term, opportunistic economic goals and not genuine search for a lasting solution to a serious problem. The EU-3 are experienced enough to know that those who have lied and cheated in the past are not about to change.

Opposition to a peaceful settlement of the Arab-Israeli conflict is the major foreign policy objective of the current regime... It will spare no effort in trying to interfere with this process and contribute to its defeat. One only needs to monitor the hateful language which is used by the leaders of the regime whenever they speak of Israel (the Zionist State). As long as this regime is in power, and it continues supporting terrorist groups such as Hezbollah, Hammas, Jihad and others, prospects for successful negotiations and a peaceful outcome are not being helped. Now that the Saddam regime is no longer in power, the Arabic language broadcasts of Tehran against Israel and the peace process are more radical than the broadcasts from any Arab nation in the region.

This year’s State Department list of State Sponsors of Terrorism refers to Iran as “the most active state sponsor of terrorism in 2004.” In addition to material and moral support that the Iranian regime has been providing for the Hezbollah and other terrorist groups in Lebanon, Syria and Palestine, there is ample evidence pointing to their interference in Iraq, Egypt, Yemen and Afghanistan. Their support for the radical Shia elements including Muqtada al-Sadr and other insurgents in Iraq has been well documented.

The record of the current regime regarding violations of human rights in Iran has been condemned by every international and human rights organization in the world. Imposing a Helsinki-type agreement or a Jackson-Vannik resolution on this regime is past overdue.

The only long term and effective cure for the above ills caused by the rule of the religious Fascists in Iran is a successful democratic regime change in that country. It is the most direct and the best cost-effective manner for resolving these multiple problems. Such a regime change would have a positive impact on the rest of the region. For instance, the impact of a shift to a democratic system in Iran would have immediate positive repercussions in Turkey where the situation is very critical today. The change in Iran will consolidate the gains already achieved in the Middle East while the continued reign of the Mullah’s is a serious menace to democracy in the region.

Today the internal situation in Iran is analogous to the situation in many of the East European countries just before the fall of communism. The level of public dissatisfaction is very high and encouragement from outside for change is crucial. Clarity of the message from abroad and the effectiveness of its delivery are of paramount importance.