Ganji and the A-Bomb

The NY Sun: an Editorial.

The suffering of Akbar Ganji epitomizes why America can't afford to let Iran acquire a nuclear weapon. The dissident journalist, known as the Iranian Havel, drifts in and out of consciousness from his hospital bed, in his 54th day of a hunger strike. He is protesting his imprisonment by Iran's mullahs, who threw him in a prison cell because he urged Iranians to boycott the recent presidential election, warning, correctly, they'd be a sham. The situation is worsening in Iran, as our Eli Lake reports today. Mr. Ganji's health is deteriorating.

The judge who sentenced Mr. Ganji, Massoud Moghaddas, was yesterday shot by a lone gunman.

Some may see Mr. Ganji's case as unrelated to Tehran's drive to obtain nuclear weapons, but it is actually a good explanation of why that effort poses such a danger. Any state that ignores the cries of freedom fighters like Mr. Ganji, and oppresses its people, would have no qualms about firing nuclear weapons on others. Iran has a history of terrorizing others. It funds terrorist groups across the globe, such as Hamas and Hezbollah, which for the past 25 years have waged a campaign of terror against America and Israel. READ MORE

Tehran announced this week that it plans to remove United Nations seals from its nuclear facilities and restart its nuclear program. The mullahs claim they're only building a civilian nuclear program - a laughable claim for a state with one of the world's largest oil and gas reserves, and lacking any credibility given their constant cat-and-mouse games with inspectors. And the terrorist-sponsoring theocracy is definitely not a state worthy of being given the benefit of the doubt.

But nothing has been done to stop the mullahs progressing toward the bomb. In November 2003 it was disclosed that Iran had been lying about its nuclear program for 18 years - and nothing was done in response. Since then more and more Iranian lies have been exposed - and still nothing has been done. The only people benefiting from this inaction are the mullahs as they steadily progress toward a bomb. At least some analysts are starting to wise up: The European Strategic Intelligence and Security Center recently published an analysis headlined "Takiya, the Art of Institutionalized Lying, Is Second Nature to the Rulers of Iran."

The best policy to stop the mullahs is regime change. This doesn't have to be done militarily. The road to Tehran can lie through the democratic opposition - if they're given the right support. As America has done successfully with other opposition movements, Iran's democrats can be given training, funds, and most important, encouragement. For example, improvements to opposition television and radio shows and newspapers can be financed. President Bush can record statements in Farsi stating America's support. The democratic revolutions in Ukraine, Georgia, and Lebanon have highlighted just how much democratic opponents of tyranny can achieve. They just need a helping hand.

Mr. Ganji is a leader of this movement. Former freedom fighters Natan Sharansky and Vaclav Havel have recognized Mr. Ganji's situation in their own pasts and together with Mr. Bush and other world leaders demanded his release. Today, according to the Foundation for Democracy in Iran, the Iranian opposition movement is planning a demonstration for the release of Mr. Ganji and other political prisoners. American diplomats can join their protests, and can, on every possible occasion, demand Mr. Ganji's freedom.

Intelligence estimates keep changing about how far Iran is from having a completed bomb. Yesterday's Washington Post quoted a new American intelligence estimate at Iran being 10 years away, while past estimates have put it at five years and below. As the mullahs managed to deceive intelligence agencies for 18 years on the status of their program, it would probably be prudent to treat any such estimates with a dose of skepticism.

In the meantime, the reports on Mr. Ganji's condition keep seeping out through our Mr. Lake. Mr. Ganji is now imprisoned in Milad Hospital. As reported by our Mr. Lake yesterday, his wife, Massoumeh Shafieh, visited him Monday and watched him collapse on the floor after he tried to stand up in response to his guards cursing him. She told The New York Sun that, when conscious, he has refused intravenous injections of sodium and sugar. At the start of his hunger strike, he survived by eating only sugar cubes and water. It's a sobering reminder to all those who doubt that if the current Iranian regime got nuclear weapons, it would use them. The regime is horrible enough as it is; all the more reason to change it before it is armed with an A-bomb.