In a September 14, 2006 op-ed in the Kuwaiti daily Al-Siyassa, editor-in-chief Ahmed Al-Jarallah criticizedIranian President Ahmadinejad and warned, “We don’t want Iran to become a victim of its own arrogance and meet the same fate of Japan, which was defeated in World War II.”
The following is Al-Jarallah’s op-ed as it appeared in the original English.
“It appears Iran has opened three fronts in the eastern part of the Middle East and is increasing or decreasing the heat in Iraq, Lebanon, and the Gulf region depending on the pressure on its nuclear program. Currently all these fronts are on high alert as Iran’s confrontation with the international community has reached a peak and the deadline for imposing sanctions and punishment has come close.
“Tehran’s battlefront in Iraq extends all the way to the south. The recent firing along Kuwait’s borders with Iraq, coinciding with the visit of UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan to Tehran and his warning to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, is raising suspicions. Ahmadinejad’s choice of the Cold War language indicates Iran’s internal situation is dangerous because of its economy, which is in crisis.
“With his extremist methods and by creating international and regional disputes the Iranian President is trying to divert the attention of his people from the internal crisis. This was evident when Ahmadinejad accused Gulf states of standing with the international community and threatened to burn the entire Gulf region if people of the region dared to stand in the way of Tehran’s nuclear program.
“Ahmadinejad has no right to accuse Gulf states or impose his authority over them. We see his threats as a ‘killing arrogance,’ which will eventually end him, because these cannot be considered a politically noble or a wise move. All of us remember how the Gulf states stood against the Shah of Iran when he was trying to play the role of a regional policeman. We also remember how the Ayatollah Ali Al-Khomeini’s Islamic revolution ended the Shah’s dreams.
“Now Ahmadinejad wants to play the same role while trying to convince us that the Islamic Revolution in Iran was not meant to implement the aggressive and greedy policies of Tehran to expand its influence all over the Gulf. Ahmadinejad, who represents the peak of Persian ambitions, is acting the role of a regional policeman with such arrogance that he has challenged US President George Bush to a debate. The President of Iran wants to debate the issue of reforming the international system when he is incapable of reforming the system in his own country.
“We say these words because Iran is an important neighboring country, which should play a cooperative role in tune with the importance of this strategic region. We don’t want Iran to become a victim of its own arrogance and meet the same fate of Japan, which was defeated in the World War II following the dropping of atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Iran should know even a small spark can ignite a huge fire. World War I was the result of the assassination of the Austrian Crown Prince and World War II was sparked by the ambitions of Adolf Hitler.
“We don’t want Ahmadinejad’s name to be included in the list of those, who caused the killing of their own people or participated in crimes against humanity. We are sorry to note that in such an important region, which is rich in oil and natural gas, some adventurous leaders are willing to jeopardize peace by accusing others of being agents without any proof. These leaders must remember arrogance is a very dangerous disease.”
