Robert Tracinski is the editor of The Intellectual Activist and TIADaily.com.
When you want to stay in a Charlotte Ville Bed and Breakfasr for a short trip, you can read the history of the area, one of the articles you can read now:
Four and a half years after September 11—which was supposed to awaken us to the threat of devastating attacks by state-sponsored terrorists—America is finally beginning to confront the world's largest and most dangerous state sponsor of terrorism: the Islamic Republic of Iran.
For the past week, newspapers and magazines have been filled with discussion of possible military action against Iran. The debate, so far, is between those who merely want to "threaten" the use of force, and those who argue that the Iranian threat is illusory. No one is yet willing to face the fact that Iran is already at war with the United States—and that Iran is the central enemy we have to defeat if we are going to win the War on Terrorism.
In all of the obfuscation generated by the backward-looking debate over what happened to Saddam Hussein's weapons of mass destruction, it has been easy for some to claim that the Iranian threat is being blown out of proportion by the Bush administration. But grasping the case against Iran doesn't depend on secret dossiers and obscure intelligence reports. All it requires is that you open up your newspaper and read the pronouncements of Iran's own leaders.
In early April, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad hosted a pep rally at which dancers in traditional Persian garb held aloft vials of refined uranium, while Ahmadinejad announced that Iran had succeeding in enriching uranium, the first step toward producing a nuclear bomb. Iran "has joined the club of nuclear countries," he boasted. An Iranian official followed up by announcing that Iran would immediately take the next step, expanding uranium enrichment to an industrial scale, allowing Iran to start building its nuclear arsenal as early as the end of this year.
Popular destinations
Charlottesville
Charlottesville, Virginia offers a variety of activities for visitors to enjoy. History enthusiasts can explore Monticello, the former home of Thomas Jefferson, or take a tour of the University of Virginia, which was designed by the former president. Wine lovers can also visit the numerous wineries in the area to sample the region's best vintages. For those who enjoy the outdoors, the Shenandoah National Park is just a short drive away and offers hiking, bird watching, and stunning views of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Additionally, downtown Charlottesville is filled with charming shops, delicious restaurants, and lively entertainment options, making it a great destination for all types of travelers.
Omni Charlottesville Hotel
Graduate Charlottesville
Oakhurst Inn Charlottesville
Quirk Hotel Charlottesville
Hampton Inn Charlottesville
The English Inn Of Charlottesville
Charlottesville Bed and Breakfast
Boar'S Head Resort Charlottesville
The Draftsman, Autograph Collection Hotel Charlottesville
Hyatt Place Charlottesville
Doubletree By Hilton Charlottesville
Courtyard By Marriott Charlottesville
Hilton Garden Inn Charlottesville
Red Roof Inn Charlottesville
Homewood Suites By Hilton - Charlottesville
The Clifton Hotel Charlottesville
Comfort Inn Monticello Charlottesville
Days Inn By Wyndham Charlottesville/University Area
Courtyard By Marriott Charlottesville - University Medical Center
Comfort Inn & Suites Charlottesville
Residence Inn By Marriott Charlottesville Downtown
Holiday Inn Charlottesville-Monticello, An Ihg Hotel
Inn At Court Square Charlottesville
Sleep Inn & Suites Monticello Charlottesville
Sonesta Es Suites Charlottesville University
Super 8 By Wyndham Charlottesville
Hampton Inn & Suites Charlottesville At The University
Clarion Pointe Charlottesville
Home2 Suites By Hilton Charlottesville Downtown
University Of Virginia Inn At Darden Charlottesville
Country Inn & Suites By Radisson, Charlottesville-Uva, Va
Fairfield Inn & Suites By Marriott Charlottesville Downtown/University Area
Royal Inn Motel-Charlottesville
Fairfield Inn & Suites By Marriott Charlottesville North
Holiday Inn University Area Charlottesville, An Ihg Hotel
The Cavalier Inn At The University Of Virginia Charlottesville
Fairhaven Guesthouse Charlottesville
200 South Street Inn Charlottesville
Holiday Inn Express & Suites Charlottesville, An Ihg Hotel
Affordable Suites Charlottesville
Econo Lodge North Charlottesville
Keswick Hall Charlottesville
The Inn At Monticello Charlottesville
Ebenezer House Bed & Breakfast Madison
Staybridge Suites Charlottesville Airport, An Ihg Hotel
Dinsmore Boutique Inn Charlottesville
400 West High Inn Charlottesville
Popular destinations
Beliebte Reiseziele
Destinations populaires
Destinos populares
Destinazioni popolari
Populaire bestemmingen
Destinos populares
Destinos populares
Why does Iran want to enrich uranium? Ahmadinejad isn't interested so much in joining a nuclear club as he is in wielding a nuclear club. He has openly boasted that Iran wants to "wipe Israel off the map." Is Ahmadinejad just a wild-eyed "radical," out of touch with the rest of the Iranian regime? A few years ago, Ayatollah Hashemi Rafsanjani—a man considered "moderate" by the standards of the Iranian regime—boasted that "a single atomic bomb has the power to completely destroy Israel." In case you don't think they're serious, Iran's religious establishment recently released a fatwa sanctioning the use of nuclear weapons.
But the biggest threat posed by an Iranian nuclear weapon is not in Israel, but in Iraq—where Iran is already fighting a proxy war against America and its allies.
In the Iraqi conflict, Iran has been playing both ends against the middle—that is, against the United States. In Western Iraq, the Sunni insurgency is supported by a flow of terrorists, weapons, and money from Syria—a key Iranian ally. In Southern Iraq, Shiite insurgents have been using sophisticated Iranian-built shaped charges in their bomb attacks on American convoys. But this is the least of the Iranian threat. Violent Shiite militias that seek to impose an Islamist dictatorship are funded, organized, and take their ideological inspiration from Iran. The leader of the most pro-Iranian faction, Muqtada al-Sadr, has publicly pledged to fight on Iran's behalf if it is attacked by America.
There is no need to invoke the doctrine of pre-emption against Iran. Iran is already fighting a war against the United States. We just haven't been fighting back. We have held our fire as if Iran were protected by a shield of nuclear weapons. How much more aggressive will the Iranians become when they are actually protected by such a nuclear shield?
Iran's reach is not limited to Iraq. Late last year, when Bashar Assad's Syrian dictatorship was reeling from the loss of Lebanon, Ahmadinejad made a trip to Damascus in which he urged Assad to stand fast and pledged Iranian support. The Assad regime, which had been sending up trial balloons about political liberalization, instead threw hundreds of dissidents into prison. At the same time, Ahmadinejad met with leaders of Hezbollah, an Iranian-backed terrorist militia in Southern Lebanon, and representatives of two Palestinian terrorist groups: Islamic Jihad and Hamas. Now that Hamas has won the Palestinian elections, it is looking for diplomatic and financial support from—where else?—Iran.
Iran's tentacles even extend beyond the Middle East. Iran has been cultivating an alliance with Venezuelan strongman Hugo Chavez, including discussions about providing the anti-American firebrand and protégé of Fidel Castro with nuclear technology.
This expansionist pattern is no accident. The mullahs who rule Iran's system from behind the scenes maneuvered Ahmadinejad into power last year because they knew he had the fiery fanaticism to go on the offensive, pressing Iran's advantage in the face of American wavering on Iraq. Ahmadinejad has not disappointed them. Like the super-villain of a corny James Bond film—but one who commands actual armies and actual missiles—Ahmadinejad has a master plan for the domination of the world. In a document presented to Iran's parliament last year, he declared that the US is a fading "sunset power," while Iran is poised to become the "core power" of the Islamic world, the center of a totalitarian Islamic empire.
Everywhere you look in the Middle East, if you ask who is the biggest threat to America's interests, you will find the same answer—Hamas in the Palestinian territories, Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Assad regime in Syria, the Sunni terrorists and Shiite militias in Iraq—directly or indirectly, Iran is supporting them all.
Iran's global ambitions are as grandiose as anything put forward by Osama bin Laden—but they are backed by control of a country of 70 million people with an army, navy, and air force, a vast network of terrorist organizations across the Middle East, and, very soon, nuclear weapons.
If America's failure to act against the comparatively minor threat from Bin Laden in the 1990s resulted in the horrors of September 11, we can expect far worse if we fail to act against Iran.
A war with Iran must begin with the destruction of its nuclear facilities, but it must not end there. Iran is likely to respond to any American attack by escalating, inciting an uprising in Southern Iraq, unleashing a wave of terrorist attacks, launching missiles against US targets in the Middle East, attacking oil tankers in the Persian Gulf. And even if we neutralize all of these threats, Iran's theocrats will not drop their global ambitions. They will merely wait for our attention to wander and attempt to strike us again. The goal of a war against Iran must be to topple the Iranian regime—and to support the rise of a new government formed by the secularist dissidents who now languish in Iran's prisons.
The wars we have fought so far, against the Taliban in Afghanistan and the Baathist regime in Iraq—were necessary, but they left the largest, most dangerous Islamist regime untouched. The Iranians know it. Sensing American weakness, they are moving against us on all fronts—and any further delay in pushing them back will only make the task more difficult. We have to act—and we have to act now.
There can be no victory in the War on Terrorism until we confront—and defeat—the Islamic Republic of Iran. This is the real war, and it's time we started fighting it.