Iran Loves A Good Kidnapping

Noah Pollak notes:

Why does the Iranian regime have such a penchant for abductions? And why are they often timed to follow American announcements of a desire for diplomacy? Because in the eyes of the Islamic revolutionaries, the overthrow of the American-backed shah in 1979 was proof not only of the revolution’s divine ordination, but of America’s weakness and the ease with which the Great Satan could be disgraced. The regime has never paid a price for the provocations that started at our embassy in Tehran — the Marine Corps barracks bombings in Lebanon in 1983, the 1994 bombing of a Jewish community center in Buenos Aires that killed 85 people, its campaign of assassinations and bombings in Europe during the 1980’s, its sponsorship of Hezbollah and Hamas, etc.

Israel is not alone in being unable to teach a permanent lesson to the terrorists who attack its citizens--does anyone seriously think that Syria will ever pay a price for its assassination of Rafik Hariri?

Pollak's recounting of the history of Iran and kidnappings includes back in 1987, when Iran justified the abduction of Westerners in Beirut on the basis of the fact that, well, what else is an oppressed people supposed to do?

The Speaker of the Iranian Parliament today defended the seizure of Western hostages in Beirut and other terrorist actions by Lebanese groups, saying the Lebanese had no other way to defend themselves.

Referring specifically to recent kidnappings in Beirut, the speaker, Hojatolislam Hashemi Rafsanjani said, ''The people of Lebanon are so ignored and so oppressed that they have no other defense for themselves other than this.''

Even back then it was clear that there was no terrorist act that could not be justified based on one pretext or another.

And there is no excuse that the West will not use to continue to use negotiation and diplomacy with terrorists and their enablers.

Technorati Tag: Iran.