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Threat Analyst Ken Abramowitz is author of “The Multifront War”
Editor: Dr. Rachel Ehrenfeld, President, American Center for Democracy (ACD)
See the sources for this article and more research in the Additional Reading section
Quote of the Week:
As the Biden administration once again joins the European Union’s efforts to acquiesce to Iranian demands for a new nuclear deal, it is important to remember that Iran is a member of the “axis of evil”, which includes China, Russia, and North Korea.
All share similar evil attributes: they are dictatorships seeking world domination. They suppress their populace using sophisticated surveillance, secret police, and control of every aspect of life, and use the media to misinform the public. (Sound familiar?) As dictatorships, they have the advantage of decisive and quick decision-making, which has the disadvantage of making big, irreversible mistakes.
Due to sanctions, government corruption, and mismanagement, Iran, Russia, and North Korea’s economies have no chance of growing. China can grow perhaps 4-5%, but is currently constrained by the government’s missteps. If the Biden administration continues relaxing the sanctions on Iran, China will readily purchase more Iranian oil and natural gas than it is doing already. Iran can further benefit from selling arms to Russia to support its war on Ukraine.
Iran, Russia, and China have each developed strategies to take over the world. Do the United States, the European Union, or Israel have strategies to save themselves and defeat this “axis of evil”? Unlikely. The sad reality is that democracies almost always focus on defense, while dictatorships almost always focus on offense. The only time that democracies focus on offense is after they have been physically attacked in their homeland.
So, what can democracies do to protect themselves from Iran and its evil partners, China, Russia, and North Korea? Here are a few suggestions:
1) If there is a 6-18 months lag time for Iran to develop its nuclear warheads, democracies should dramatically increase military spending on both offensive weapons such as stealth bombers and defensive weapons such as missile defense.
2) The corrupt and incompetent Iranian autocracy is unpopular and weak, mainly because it can’t provide enough food or water, or jobs for its people.
3) Iran is 61% Persian, with large minorities such as the Azeris (16%), Kurds (10%), and Baluchis (2%), who are unhappy living under the Persian mullahs. They should be encouraged to demand regional autonomy.
4) The Iranian military is far inferior to the American military, which can destroy the Iranian Navy and Airforce in a very short period of time.
5) The US should return to President Trump’s “maximum pressure” campaign. The 1,000 sanctions imposed by President Trump should be enforced and increased until Iran’s economy implodes and goes bankrupt.
6) The US should obliterate Iran’s narco-terrorism operations in the Middle East, Africa, and Latin America.
7) The US should stop Iran’s cultural terror activities in American schools, universities, radio, newspapers, and mosques, and pressure other countries to do the same.
8) The US should run non-stop cyber-attacks against all Iranian government entities.
9) The US should encourage victims of Iranian crimes, such as the 9/11 victims, to sue the Iranian government for damages.
10) The US should encourage Israel to increase its attacks on Iran and its worldwide terror operation. In certain circumstances, the US military should join Israel’s attacks on select targets, such as shooting down Iranian drones in Iranian territory or on their way to Russia, to help Putin’s war on Ukraine. Now is the time to damage select nuclear weapons and missiles development sites.
Since our current strategy is evidently to lose, it is high time to change to a winning strategy: force Iran to stop its nuclear weapons developments!
ADDITIONAL READING:
Iran vows to build nukes, turn New York into ‘hellish ruins’ – NYPost.com
Iran: Officials Promote Starving Citizens Under a ‘Great Economic Plan’ – IranFocus.com
USA vs Iran | Comparison military strength – Armed Forces.eu
Trump’s ‘maximum pressure’ strategy on Iran did not fail | Opinions – Al Jazeera
Narcoterrorism – Iran’s stealthy, deadly weapon against the West – afn.net
Iran’s ties to U.S. universities — an infiltration to fear – WashingtonTimes.com
Iran Cyber Threat Overview and Advisories – CISA.gov
Iran says Israel-linked agents planned attack on defence plant – Reuters