Iran debate

‘When someone says they want to annihilate you..'

  •   ‘When someone says they want to annihilate you, believe them!
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    These are the words of a Holocaust survivor, quoted by the best-selling author and journalist Douglas Murray, during a debate at the Cambridge Union, U.K., in March 2011. They were part of a powerful address which called for the necessity of taking seriously Iran’s attempts to acquire a nuclear weapon, and the necessary steps to prevent this. (Click here to view his full address)
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    The Union is one of the world’s ‘oldest and most prestigious debating societies’, hosting such luminaries as Sir Winston Churchill, US President Ronald Reagan at the end of the Cold War, and Queen Noor and King Hussein of Jordan, who spoke about peace in the Middle East. Like many debates in public discourse over the past few years, Iran and its nuclear weapons program was the subject in question. The motion in this particular debate was ‘This house would rather a nuclear Iran than war’. At the end of proceedings, 90 voted for the motion, 100 against, and 77 abstentions. What helped to convince a majority of the world’s leading young minds present at the debate, to vote against this motion, and decide that, when framed in terms of a choice between accepting an Iran with nuclear weapons, or taking action to prevent it, they would choose the latter? One of the key factors in persuading the audience was the eloquent speech delivered by Douglas Murray, who has consistently warned about the dangers of not taking action to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear capability. Although the debate occurred in March 2011, Murray’s salient points still carry all their force. He spoke about taking the true measure of the Iranian regime, understanding how a traditional theory of détente would not apply to a nuclear armed Iran that destabilizes the Middle East and has every intention of continuing in this vein, and the likely international reaction to any Israeli action. Watching footage of the debate now provides a timely reminder of why the U.S. Congress recently implemented tougher sanctions against Iran, as the nuclear threat has only increased, and Iran is ‘two and a half months’ closer to crossing the red line of possessing weapons-grade uranium about which PM Netanyahu warned in September at the UN. Another clear sign of the Iranian regime’s intention is provided this week by the statement of a senior Iranian commander, Brig.-Gen. Amir Ali Hajizadeh, Commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Aerospace Force, speaking on the range of ballistic missiles, who said "We don't need missiles with over 2,000 km but we have the technology to build them...[since] Israel is our longest-range target." Murray’s warnings still ring true today, as the need to address the Iranian nuclear program continues to gain urgency.
     
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