As events unfold between Iran and Great Britain, a potentially volatile situation only becomes more complicated. Granted, hostages and trespassing disputes is nothing new, but think of all the other ingredients surrounding
this potential powder keg.

The radical regime led by Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is aggressively pursuing nuclear weapons, Iran has called for the destruction of Israel and the United States, Iran continues to pour resources and powerful explosives into Iraq to further destabilize the region and undermine the coalition's goals (elite Iranian soldiers have been caught in Iraq as well), and they continue to shun the United Nations and the IAEA over their pursuit of an atomic bomb.

Now, several things make this situation even more fascinating. We are already fighting in countries on both sides of Iran; therefore, our military (although still very strong) is indeed weaker than it would be if we were not fighting those wars, and Iran, stronger now than it has ever been, continues to become more powerful every day. That, my friends, is exactly how I would set the table if I wanted Iran to become a nuclear superpower with the capability of striking Israel with that nuclear weapon.

Every last resort must be taken to avoid conflict with Iran, but we must be prepared to answer the following question- "Will Iran leave the good and just people of this world any choice other than armed conflict?" I applaud
our diplomacy through the United Nations, and every single economic pressure point must be struck, but we must find the intestinal fortitude to grasp the fact that Iraq and Afghanistan may not be the only place in this decade that
brave American soldiers will be called upon to defend freedom.

Regardless of your views on our action in Iraq, if Iran does not stop with their goal to destroy Israel, we will have no choice but to take military action, and to use the situation in Iraq as an excuse to not stop Ahmadinejad would be one of the greatest mistakes of our generation.

Throughout the course of history, every generation has had an "accepted evil." Whether it was slavery, ethnic cleansing, genocide, or abortion, the accepted evil was overlooked, excused, or rationalized away in our minds. By
the time Hitler was deemed "unacceptable," six million Jews and countless more were dead.

Will we once again be too late?

Jeremiah Cook
Chattanooga
cookjp@tntemple.edu