Editorial: Crandall - No nuclear for Iran

On Monday evening at 6:00, it looked like the Israel-Iran war had maybe come to an end. But by 11:00, it didn’t look like that at all. And as we woke up on Tuesday morning, it was clear it wasn’t over.

But, don’t despair, it’ll get settled.

Hopefully, in my mind, it will get settled with Iran dumping their current regime and getting one that the people of Iran want, since it is pretty clear that the current government is nothing more than one of the worst kind of dictators, with political power being their only interest and with little or no interest in serving their own people, even with only the most basic of human rights.

Trump, especially, has been very careful, not to mention ‘regime change.’ And he is probably right, so as not to infuriate Russia and China into thinking that the US has appointed itself to be in charge of all regimes in the world, even such as theirs. But there is little doubt that regime change is what Trump would like to see in Iran.

So, where does this thing stand now?

Well, if the information from the American military and politicians, including Trump, is correct, that the Iranian nuclear capacity has been removed, the world is a much better place. It’s much better for Washington, DC, for New York City, for Toronto, Ontario and for Golden, BC.

The players who have nuclear weapons now have proven themselves to handle them with extreme care.

Who are those countries?

If I’m even somewhat up to date, that list would include the US, Russia, China, France, the UK, and I believe I am right in saying Pakistan. And possibly India. Even that list is probably longer than we would like, but so far, at least so far, so good.

But Iran is a whole different kettle of fish than the others. It seems to believe that it should rule the world, and would be happy to use any kind of weapon, and crush any people, to achieve that status.

So, removing its nuclear capability is extremely good for the entire world, not just Israel and the US. And the world can thank Trump for doing it. Few others would have. Certainly not Biden or Kamala Harris.

And Russia and China must agree, or they would have come to Iran’s defence, which they certainly haven’t. Even they know how dangerous Iran would be with nuclear power.

So, if Iran is without nuclear capabilities, this current war will be short-lived. It will probably end when the Iranian mullahs feel they have a way of getting out of it while saving face, and hanging onto power within Iran.

In the meantime, it will probably be like waiting for a forest fire to go out and, as you know, in many cases, we simply have to wait for fires to burn themselves out.

We know one thing. Israel is not likely to quit in this fight with Iran since Iran has long said that Israel should be wiped off the face of the earth. With that, there is no quit in Israel. And they are not likely to run out of munitions, since the US will keep them supplied. And if China and Russia don’t supply Iran, it will simply soon be over.

Maybe even by the time you read this. Which would be a reflection of how much force there is in military ability today. No more bayonets and trenches anymore. A hundred years ago, this war might have gone on for years.

Part of the reason Israel won’t stop until Iran is totally defeated is that the Israelis know that the current leadership in Iran is not worthy of any trust whatsoever. They lie, both inside and outside their own country, without the slightest bit of caution.

They are serial liars, and everyone knows it. So why would Israel quit until it knew that Iran had been completely demilitarized? There’s no reason if you know you are simply going to have to deal with them later on, perhaps when they are stronger than they are now, as they would have been if they had been allowed to have nuclear capability.

And what should be Canada’s position regarding Iran, even when this skirmish is over?

Well, we aren’t involved militarily, and we aren’t going to be. So we should continue to mind our own business. That shouldn’t be hard, and it won’t be as long as we stay a million miles away from Iran in every way.

Every way.

Including trade. The worst thing we could do would be to start trading with Iran, even after they are defeated militarily, unless the rest of the world is trading with them too, and I don’t think we will.

Humanitarian efforts, along with other countries, is a different story, and could also involve Israel; they may need help as well.

But when the dust settles on this whole affair, the world is better off with Iran not having nuclear capability.

That’s the bottom line.

Duane Crandall is a retired newspaper publisher, having owned and operated The Golden Star from 1982 – 1987, and the Golden News from 1992 – 2003. He served as MLA for Columbia River-Revelstoke from 1986 – 1991.