Marcie Benson's Feb. 26 article, ""A nonviolent response to boiling Iran strife"" calls the United States to avoid bloodshed by pursuing a policy of ""patience, tact and open communications"" with Iran.
Yet, it is precisely this type of appeasing foreign policy that has lead to much of the bloodshed in the 20th century, including Sept. 11, 2001.
When Iran took American hostages, we negotiated; when they threatened the lives of Salman Rushdie and others, we did nothing. When North Korea threatens us, we pay them ransom money and pretend they are honest trading partners.
When the Taliban wage war on America we drop food packages on Afghanistan and allow Osama Bin Laden to escape by refusing to cross into enemy territory.
In Iraq, we call on our troops to fight and die for Iraqis' freedom rather than America's defense, and shackle our solders with ""rules of engagement"" so as not to disturb mosques or risk killing civilians.
Instead of defeating the mullahs, we allow them to vote in leaders who are hostile to the United States. While Iran funds and supports the killing of American soldiers, we pretend that they are a potential ally and partner in rebuilding Iraq.
And now, while Iran works to gain nuclear weapons, we bend over backwards trying to convince the rest of the world that something needs to be done, rather than taking decisive action to eliminate the threat.
America's unwillingness to unequivocally defend Americans' freedom and stand up against tyranny has given sanction to the barbarism we see throughout the Middle East.
Eliminating the Iranian threat does not require occupation, nor a quagmire like we see in Iraq—not if America adopts a policy of self-defense instead of trying to spread democracy throughout the world.
If Americans value their freedom, they must stop pretending that every thug and dictator is a potential negotiating partner. There is nothing to gain by patiently negotiating and cutting deals with those who threaten our lives. American lives are non-negotiable.
Jim Allard
biology
UW-Madison
