Bernard Lewis Warned Iran Seeks Nukes For Apocalypse - Not Deterrence
Dr. Aaron Lerner 13 December 2024

"mutual assured destruction, the deterrent that worked so well during the
Cold War, would have no meaning. At the end of time, there will be general
destruction anyway. What will matter will be the final destination of the
dead - hell for the infidels, and heaven for the believers. For people with
this mindset, MAD is not a constraint; it is an inducement."
Bernard Lewis - The Wall Street Journal Aug. 8, 2006

Almost all of the talking heads speculating if Iran will now rush for a nuke
see such a move within the context of an Iranian desire to use nukes deter
regime change.

Unfortunately, these analysts simply cannot comprehend that Iranian Twelvers
could actually welcome an apocalypse set into motion by an Iranian nuclear
strike and the response that would follow. Without saying it explicitly,
they are arguing that there is some set of universal values that has some
kind of veto power over belief systems when adhering to those beliefs can
have unsavory results when judged by these "universal values".

This is not an inconsequential academic disagreement.

The attitude of policy makers and analysts towards the threat of a nuclear
Iran would be radically different if they thought that there was even a 25%
chance that Bernard Lewis is correct.

I daresay that if they gave Bernard Lewis the weight his opinion deserves
that we would have already "pulled the trigger" on a massive operation long
ago.
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