Website of Rep.Ted Poe – Washington, Jul 21, 2010
… [Iran] has continued his attack on his own people in Camp Ashraf. Those Iranian folks that are in Camp Ashraf in Iraq that we as a Nation have promised to protect but because of our agreement with the Iraqi Government, Camp Grizzly, that organization or that camp we have in Iraq to protect the Iranians in Camp Ashraf, we have abandoned that Camp Grizzly. The United Nations assistance team has also left.
So who is in charge of protecting the Iranians in Iraq? Certainly not the Iranian Government.
Website of Rep.Ted Poe – Washington, Jul 21, 2010
Mr. Speaker, the band continues to play the same song, third or fourth verse, and that is the song of nuclear weapons in Iran.
Now, is there anyone in the House of Representatives, Democratic, Republican, who believes that Iran has stopped its development of nuclear weapons? I think not. Is there anyone in this world who thinks that Iran has stopped its development of nuclear weapons? I think not.
You know, they used the philosophy and the politics of delay, of promise, of hope to tell the world that really they are not really interested in nuclear weapons. Meanwhile, the band continues to play the song of nuclear weapons coming from the desert and the tiny tyrant of the desert, Ahmadinejad.
He is bent on the destruction of, first, Israel and then the West, and he is primarily concerned right now with destroying opposition in his own country. After all, he is an illegitimate officeholder and President of Iran. He rigged the elections, and so he took control. He killed his own people in the streets, and, Mr. Speaker, he is still at war with the Iranian people, those good folks in Iran who want to control their destiny and don't want it controlled by their dictator, the little tyrant in the desert.
We as a Nation and as a world need to support the people of Iran to change their regime. Our quarrel is not with the people of Iran. Our quarrel is with the tiny tyrant in the desert who wants the nuclear destruction of Israel and the West.
And he has continued his attack on his own people in Camp Ashraf. Those Iranian folks that are in Camp Ashraf in Iraq that we as a Nation have promised to protect but because of our agreement with the Iraqi Government, Camp Grizzly, that organization or that camp we have in Iraq to protect the Iranians in Camp Ashraf, we have abandoned that Camp Grizzly. The United Nations assistance team has also left.
So who is in charge of protecting the Iranians in Iraq? Certainly not the Iranian Government. They want them destroyed. After all, it was about a year ago when they encouraged the Iraqi Government to go into Camp Ashraf and they did. They killed 11 Iranians; 500 others were wounded. And now we hear media talk that the Iranian Government is working with the Iraqi Government to present warrants of arrest so the Iraqi Government will go back into Camp Ashraf and arrest those pro-democracy Iranians that want to remove Ahmadinejad. We cannot allow that to happen. We must protect the people, the citizens of Camp Ashraf. It is our obligation, our moral duty as a Nation and as a world to make sure those dissidents remain protected and free.
It is important to the world that we as a Nation understand the importance of Israel as our ally. Israel is surrounded by its enemies; it's surrounded by Hamas to the south, Hezbollah to the north. And you know what, Mr. Speaker? Iran is supplying weapons and money to Hezbollah in the north, Hamas in the south. You see, the little rogue dictator, the tiny tyrant of the desert, Ahmadinejad, is trying to have insurrection in Israel as well as in his own country.
So, Mr. Speaker, the great hope for Iran, the great hope for the world is a regime change in Iran. And we need to be vigilant and supportive and watchful and make sure that we help in any way we can, at least verbally and politically, to support the good people of Iran to take control of their own country, to get rid of this illegitimate dictator that's trying to destroy not only Israel and the West, but his own country for some unfortunate reason.
Mr. Speaker, regime change is the answer. A nuclear Iran is not a nuclear option.
And that's just the way it is.
