Saudi
Columnist Bomb Iran Now
Let Chips Fall Where They May
MEMRI ^ | 8-19-08
Posted on Tuesday,
August 19, 2008 3:16:58 PM by SJackson
Saudi Columnist: Bomb
In his August 4, 2008 column in the liberal
Arab e-journal Elaph, Saudi columnist Saleh Al-Rashed argued that the
Gulf states should urge the West to attack Iran before it acquires nuclear
weapons.
Following are excerpts from the column:
"'One cannot avoid the inevitable' - this
adage came to mind when I read the pronouncement by Iran's Islamic
Revolutionary Guards Corps commander Mohammad 'Ali Ja'fari,
who said: 'My country is easily capable of closing the Straits of Hormuz, the
main passageway for oil freighters, if the country is attacked due to its
nuclear program.'
"In my estimation,
confronting this country, which is trying to gain the time necessary to acquire
nuclear weapons, is unavoidable. The
possession of nuclear weapons by a state like
"Perhaps it is our bad luck that we [i.e.
Saudi Arabia] and the Gulf states would be the first to suffer from a military
confrontation with Iran and from its response, and the problem would become
even more grave if Iran succeeded in closing the Straits of Hormuz, as the IRGC
commander threatened. But our situation with
"History has taught us that ideological
countries only pay heed to victory over their ideology… They never accept any
halfway situation, even when they find themselves on the brink of
disaster."
"Confrontation Is The
Solution"; "The Absolute Priority Must Be Our Strategic Security in
the Gulf"
"Confrontation is the solution, and there is
no solution but confrontation. The game of the carrot and the stick played by
the
"At present, we are suffering from two
things:
"Perhaps it is a strange coincidence that,
this time around, our strategic interests coincide with those of
"I know that the Arab demagogues stand
together indiscriminately with anyone who is against
"In politics, nothing prevents you from
allying with the devil for the sake of your interests. This is what confronting
the Iranian danger - which is close - demands of us. This issue, in my
estimation, cannot suffer delay or hesitation. Every passing day benefits
"Thus, we need to push the world powers, and
especially the