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May 21, 2009
Preserving America: Memorial Day Message
by Ilana Freedman
Who Will Bell the Iranian Tiger?
By Ilana Freedman
Ever Wonder What Gerard Group Does?
Over the course of our 233 year history, Americans have been called upon to fight wars against people who wanted to take from us more than we were willing to give.
Today Americans once again face an enemy that threatens to destroy the things we hold most dear - our freedom and our right to live our lives in peace. But today's enemy differs from those of the past - it represents no foreign government, wears no uniform, lives among us, and has threatened to destroy us. We have greeted our enemy with open arms, invited them into our communities. They have entered our schools, our workplace, our organizations and our government, and we don't know who they are.
The enemy has a name. It is radical Islam and it is sworn to our destruction. The great tragedy is that we tolerate the brewing hatred that jihad generates.
Earlier this year, for example, right here in America where everyone is supposed to be entitled to live free from fear and enjoy equal protection under the law, demonstrators against the Gaza war chanted, "Long live Hitler! Put Jews in ovens! Jews are fossil fuel!" without intervention. In a less violent demonstration of unequal justice, Christian prayers - even silent ones - have been banned from our schools, in an apparent application of the separation of church and state. Yet in these same schools, units of study on Islam have been allowed, even to the inclusion of prayer.
Our laws against incitement have yet to meet a current Constitutional test in the Supreme Court, but when our community tolerates the protection of one group (Muslims) at the expense of another (Jews and Christians) then our system has broken down.
Today, as we approach Memorial Day, a time when we honor those who have sacrificed their own lives so that we can live ours in freedom, we would do well to contemplate the reasonable boundaries between tolerance and appeasement, between acceptance and self-abasement. If we turn over our society to those who would destroy it, out of a misplaced sense of correctness or apathy, the meaning of Memorial Day will have been lost, as will our freedom and our nation.
One hundred years from now, history will give silent testimony to the strength of our commitment to those principles that we claim to hold most dear, and to whether we were willing to stand firm and fight with conviction for America's fundamental dream: the right to self-determination; to individual freedom, the undying wisdom of our Constitution, and the right to be the best we can be, to achieve the best that is within us.
Ilana Freedman is the CEO of Gerard Group International and Editor of this publication.
The threat that Iran poses to the world is not hypothetical. Politicians and pundits have been debating the nuclear capability of Iran's terror-supporting regime for a number of years, but the discussion has been largely academic for several reasons.
The first reason is that Iran has already assembled several plutonium bombs (one source has told us "twelve that we know about") without the benefit of working centrifuges. With technological and practical support from China, Russia, and North Korea, Iran has been able to acquire a nuclear capability, long before its reactors are scheduled to go on line.
The second reason is that as Iran continues on the path towards developing its own nuclear resource, the threat alone is enough to put the world into a tailspin, as nations scramble to identify the best strategies for dealing with the potential threat.
President Obama now ponders his own path, favoring, it would seem, that of negotiation and appeasement over taking a strong position against nuclear development. He offered Iran "a new beginning" of diplomatic engagement, rather than taking a firm position on Iran's nuclear proliferation. "My administration is now committed to diplomacy that addresses the full range of issues before us," he said.
The idea that there is a negotiating partner in Teheran is one of the most dangerous myths keeping our government from achieving true success in the Middle East. In our evolving foreign and domestic policy, we fail to recognize the underlying cultural drivers that allow Ahmadinejad, for one, to use the time we demand for negotiating, to reinforce and develop his own position vis à vis Iran's nuclear capability, its military power, and its political leverage. So far, he has done an excellent job in securing these options. But this has been accomplished by putting the rest of the Middle East at great risk.
Ahmadinejad has used his platform to threaten Israel with total destruction, and to reconstruct history by denying the Holocaust in the 1940s, even as he plans another in the 21st century. He has threatened the West in general and America in particular, calling us the Great Satan. His regime has provided material support for terrorist organizations - Hamas and Hizballah, for example, whose own charters call for the destruction of Israel and the West.
Yet President Obama has given Iran until the end of the year to get serious about negotiating to end their nuclear aspirations, saying, "We're not going to have talks forever," while leaving the door open to seven months of Iranian nuclear buildup. In the Middle East, where time is measured much differently from the minutes and hours that mark our Western lives, the next seven months can be seen as an eternity or a heartbeat.
Seven months of negotiations will allow Ahmadinejad the opportunity to indulge in taqiyya, the Koranic concept of lying to one's enemies in order to acquire an advantage in a time of perceived danger. In Islamic tradition, taqiyya is obligatory, according to Shia authority, Ayatollah Sistani. It will give him the time he needs to get his centrifuges on-line and operative. It will give him time to prepare - and possibly deploy - a massive assault against Israel, nuclear or otherwise. It will give him the chance to reshape the Middle East in an image that is far from anything we want to contemplate.
On Wednesday, May 20, Iran test-fired an upgraded surface-to-surface missile, that experts say is capable of striking Israel, Europe, and American bases in the Middle East. This adds a new dimension to the growing problems of the region, since although there are multi-national military deterrents throughout the region, not the least of which are those of the United States and Israel, the complications of having to deal with Iran's more accurate SEJIL-2 missile are significant.
The threat that Iran poses to Western society is profound. Our official response to that threat is naïve and dangerous. When President Obama said "… it's not clear to me why my outstretched hand would be interpreted as weakness," it showed how great is his lack of understanding of underlying Middle East realities.
He clearly expects Ahmadinejad to use the same frames of reference when responding to his outreach as we use in the West, something that students of the Middle East learn early is perilously unrealistic. When considering America's offer of diplomacy, Ahmadinejad will see weakness, perhaps fear of confrontation, and a clear opportunity to use the time to his own advantage.
When we form our foreign policy without considering the social and cultural context within which it will be received abroad, we play into the hands of our enemies who are savvier that we at this international game of one-upsmanship. If our posture is firm in the face of the Iranian nuclear threat, then we have the chance to succeed in diffusing it. But if we appease those who have openly threatened us, if we reach out to those who have openly warned us that the destruction of a sovereign state and American ally is part of their plan, if we defer our moral authority in favor of 'diplomacy' with a leadership that practices taqiya with abandon, then we become culpable for putting the entire Middle East at risk, a risk that may well plunge the region into a war that will ultimately engulf the entire world.
Ilana Freedman is the CEO of Gerard Group International and Editor of this publication.
GERARD GROUP INTERNATIONAL
Center for Applied Intelligence
Gerard Group has established the Center for Applied Intelligence, the goal of which is to enable broad intelligence sharing among a diverse professional constituency. This constituency includes domestic and international business, law enforcement, and government agencies with a mandate in homeland security.
The Center uses Gerard Group's patented analytical methodology for the processing and predictive analysis of massive flows of continually acquired raw data. We integrate the research and analytical processes with high quality input from our associates around the world (nearly 400 experts in a broad range of relevant fields).
The end product is fully documented, in-depth analysis, and actionable intelligence that can be immediately applied in the real world by law enforcement, intelligence professionals, and decision and policy makers. We believe that through this technology, we can create an environment that will help overcome the effects of long-entrenched siloing in a field where collaboration is essential.
Through the collaborative process, we encourage the building of new relationships which we believe will proactively support positive change. Our goal is to encourage and facilitate innovative research and analysis that can inform policy- and decision-making at the highest levels.
By helping analysts and policy makers to communicate across the boundaries of their respective disciplines in real and meaningful terms, and by providing them with the information they need to arrive at sound conclusions, we believe we can also help keep the world safer and more prosperous.
Intelligence-led Services
Gerard Group provides analysis of targeted intelligence to a broad spectrum of organizations including corporate clients, law enforcement, government agencies, and homeland security practitioners.
We provide our clients with thoroughly documented, actionable intelligence in the areas of their specific concern. We also provide a well-developed program of support services for facility, infrastructure, and maritime safety.
Our services include: Risk and Exposure Assessments (Vulnerability Assessments on steroids), Emergency Response programs, Supply Line Security, Personnel Training, and Security Teams.
Further information is available on our website at www.gerardgroup.com or you can inquire by e-mail to info@gerardgroup.com with a subject heading "Intel Center".
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