What if those Iranian bombs had nuclear warheads?

OPINION:

Criticism of President Trump’s bombing campaign against the Iranian regime continues from most Democrats and a few Republicans.

There was a time in America, unknown to younger generations, when the nation was mostly unified behind American troops at war.

Today, there are no restraints, as a war is seen merely as a continuation of politics as usual. Criticism emboldens the enemy and puts more American military personnel in danger. That appears to be of little concern to the critics.

A new poll by NPR/PBS News/Marist found 56% of those surveyed oppose or strongly oppose military action against Iran. Forty-four percent support or strongly support the announced intention by the administration to render Iran incapable of developing nuclear weapons.

Have they considered that a victory by the U.S. and Israel would likely decapitate the ayatollahs’ regime and replace it with a government that is not only more friendly to the U.S., Israel and the West but also allows for freedoms now denied the Iranian people?

One wonders whether the answers might have been different had respondents been asked a question about a successful outcome and the threat of failure.

Another question pollsters should ask is this: If the Israelis and we had done nothing and Iran had managed to develop a nuclear weapon, what would critics say? Consider the indiscriminate bombing of countries, including Arab and Muslim countries, throughout the region.

If nuclear warheads had been on those missiles and if the Iranian regime had been allowed to develop an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of reaching the U.S. East Coast, what then? It would be too late to do much about it, and millions might die in a nuclear holocaust.

This is the case that the Trump administration has failed to sufficiently shape public opinion in the president’s direction. The president needs to deliver an Oval Office address in which he says this is a preemptive strike designed not only to save lives in the region but also to save American lives, which would be in jeopardy should the ayatollahs manage to remain in power.

There is something else to which the administration (and previous administrations) has not given the attention it deserves. That is the religious component. The ayatollahs and their supporters don’t fear death. Their twisted theology has convinced them that they will be transported to heaven should they die at the hands of “infidels.” This is not a secret. It is part of their religious doctrine. They have been preaching it for centuries.

Islamic scholar Bernard Lewis viewed the historical goal of Islam as a “comprehensive, divinely sanctioned mission to bring the world under Islamic law (Shariah) through jihad (armed struggle).” Its goal, he wrote, was to establish a single, unified Islamic polity that viewed the faith as a “total, all-encompassing system of life rather than just a personal, spiritual, or legal sector.”

Lewis wrote that it is an “obligation for all Muslims to make war against [infidels] and against those who follow them, [especially Jews].” The extremists, he wrote, are for heaven, and those who are not with them are for hell. How does one negotiate with people who hold such beliefs? Defeat must be the only goal: either theirs or ours.

For more Lewis quotes, go to Goodreads.com and search for Bernard Lewis.

Victory over the ayatollahs might quickly turn around public approval, as would returning gas prices to their previous low level. Victory might come more quickly if more of the public got behind the war effort.

• Readers may email Cal Thomas at tcaeditors@tribpub.com. Look for Cal Thomas’ latest book, “A Watchman in the Night: What I’ve Seen Over 50 Years Reporting on America” (Humanix Books).