Mr. President Finish the Job Before History Judges
Throughout history, those who contributed to the collapse of destructive ideologies have earned an enduring place in the historical record. On the global stage, the names of those who confronted Nazism, Fascism, Apartheid, Stalinism, Maoism, Communism, and radical extremism became synonymous with moral and political courage. At the national level, countless individuals who fought dictatorship, totalitarianism, violence, and absolutism have likewise become permanent figures in their countries’ political cultures.
After the September 11 attacks, the United States launched the War on Terror in 2001 and identified the “Axis of Evil,” placing the Islamic Republic of Iran at its center. America spent trillions of dollars and sacrificed thousands of its soldiers. Yet the roots of Islamist terrorism were never eradicated. In practice, Afghanistan and Iraq gradually fell under the expanding influence of the Islamic Republic, the so-called Shiite Crescent gained strength, and Tehran established a continuous land corridor stretching from Afghanistan to the Mediterranean.
Donald Trump, however, broke with that passive pattern and chose a genuine confrontation with terrorism. He spared no effort in attempting to contain the monster that had escaped the bottle.
He first eliminated the most notorious architect of the Shiite Crescent—Qassem Soleimani, a terrorist arguably more dangerous than Osama bin Laden. Six years later, Ali Khamenei was removed from power. His administration also designated the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a Foreign Terrorist Organization.
For these actions, many Iranians came to regard Trump as a liberator.
Yet, suddenly, instead of standing firmly with the Iranian people, he appeared willing to entertain the regime’s deception, manipulation, and endless lies. The Iranian people were left waiting while valuable time was consumed under the banner of negotiations. Still, it is encouraging that he eventually moved from describing the regime as “reasonable people willing to negotiate” to recognizing them as charlatans, liars, murderers, and corrupt rulers. It is equally encouraging that he appears to have realized that the so-called Mojtaba Khamenei is, in reality, not the center of power, and that the regime is effectively directed by terrorist figures such as Zolghadr and Vahidi.
But if Trump finishes the job and brings this regime to its end, he will alter the course of Middle Eastern history. If he does not—if he lacks the resolve to complete what he began—then he must accept the humiliation of being deceived by an Islamist terrorist regime and the indignity of coexistence with the Shiite clerical establishment.
If President Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu succeed in liberating ninety million people held hostage by the Islamic Caliphate of the Shiite clerics, the course of history will be transformed.
Whether they will do so, I do not know. But if Trump fails to finish the job, history will not remember him as favorably as it otherwise might have. Even so, his place in modern history is already more significant and more clearly defined than that of many who fought against Communism, Apartheid, or Nazism.
Trump confronted Islamist terrorism directly and attempted to perform the difficult surgery required to remove it. That alone has secured him a distinctive place in history. Yet history’s final judgment will also weigh his willingness—or his hesitation—to complete that mission.
So, Mr. President, finish the job. , The Fall of Tehran is near…
