Why is Iran off limits?

The U.S has responded to Iran’s acts of war over the last 30 years like “a ship of fools,” wrote retired Navy Admiral James Lyons in the Washington Times last week.

“Each administration since President Carter’s has chosen to ignore or pretend that the Iranian theocracy is not behind the repeated acts of terrorism or combat killings of hundreds if not thousands of our military and civilian personnel. Never has there been such a stain on our honor,” the former admiral wrote.

Iran’s blatant acts of war against the U.S over the last three decades have gone almost completely unchecked—starting with the takeover of the U.S. Embassy in 1979, then continuing with the truck bombing of U.S. Marines in Beirut in 1983, the Persian Gulf tanker war and the 1996 Khobar Towers bombing in Saudi Arabia, to name a few. More recently, Iran has provided uninterrupted support for insurgencies opposing U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. Three weeks ago, the New York Times wrote about the “steady stream” of cash Iran is sending to Karzai’s government in Afghanistan in order to promote Iranian interests.

“What’s astounding is that we have known all along about these bribes,” Lyons wrote. “The State Department when queried could only pathetically respond that it hoped Iran would be a constructive influence on Afghan’s future.” He continued,

When we are sending our finest military men to fight in two wars with no intention of addressing the basic problem—Iran—it is more than dereliction of duty; it borders on criminal. Why has Iran been off limits for more than 30 years?

It’s because of America’s broken will, as we have explained before at theTrumpet.com. Over the past decade, we have repeatedly detailed how Iran is the head of the terrorist snake, and that America’s failure to confront it directly has been the greatest strategic flaw of its war on terror. Back in 2003, editor in chief Gerald Flurry wrote,

The fruits and evidence of the past two decades overwhelmingly prove where the king of state-sponsored terrorism is! The whole world can see that. However, the solution to terrorism lies in doing something about it! We must confront the source. The terrorist movement flows from Iran.

As Lyons points out in his article, it’s not like America hasn’t faced tougher enemies in the past. “There is no question that we have the military capability to launch and sustain a devastating strike on Iran,” he wrote. “It’s our leadership that has failed the American people” (emphasis mine).

If only America’s will matched its robust military strength. As Mr. Flurry wrote in the 2003 piece, “We could be a terror to any nation who dared sponsor terrorism against us and our allies. But those days are gone with the wind!”