Iran is itching to incite another war in the region by following up on its previous threats to close the international shipping lanes of the Hormuz Straights in the Gulf of Oman. Last week, they evidently mined and blew holes in two tankers in that region and even had the nerve to hijack the crew of one of them immediately after the explosion. They were hoping to taunt the usually quick tempered President Trump to militarily retaliate, but this Sunday, our Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo told Fox News that in the interests of peace, we’ll be rounding up international diplomatic support to urge Iran to cease and desist from its dangerous, explosive behavior. “”President Trump has done everything he can to avoid war. We don’t want war.” He added. “The United States is going to make sure that we take all the actions necessary, diplomatic and otherwise that achieve that outcome.” Not an easy task but we seem to be taking bold steps to convince the Iranian mullahs that we will not flinch at the use of military force to urge them to enter the 21st century and learn to live under humane and international rules of law. Trump’s order to send a carrier fleet armed to the teeth with naval based sea to land missiles and hundreds of top of the line bombers did just that and should send the signal to Tehran that we mean business. We finally have a leader who has had enough of Iran’s world-wide campaign of terror. They have unleashed untold horrors all around the world since their overthrow of the Shah. Their tentacles have reached out to Israel, Arabia, Syria, Lebanon, Europe and the United States. They are hell-bent on creating havoc and sadly, have learned that they don’t have to suffer any negative consequences for their horrific behavior. But now, thankfully, the jig is up. They have to decide if it’s going to be, “war or peace.”
We, here at the NY Jewish Voice are heartened by our own nation’s peaceful yet forceful response to these latest acts of Iranian terrorism. It’s not in our best interests to jump into another “Iraq” war situation leading to our own youth shedding their blood in an area that has never indicated any interests in peace, democracy or tolerance for others.However, we cannot permit that area to be overrun by Iran. In the words of President John F. Kennedy, in his commencement speech delivered on June 1, 1963 at American University: “We shall be prepared (for war) if others wish it. We shall be alert to try to stop it. But we shall also do our part to build a world of peace where the weak are safe and the strong are just. We are not helpless before that task or hopeless of its success. Confident and unafraid, we must labor on – not towards a strategy of annihilation but towards a strategy of peace.”
