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Long History with Iran Adds Context to War Decision · Commentary - TJ Meadows

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  Speaker 1: Iran's supreme leader, Ayatola Ali Hamine, is dead good. His
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  Speaker 1: killing marks the end of one of the most consequential
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  Speaker 1: and purely evil figures in modern Middle Eastern history, a
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  Speaker 1: man whose regime defined itself in opposition to the United States, Israel,
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  Speaker 1: and the Western world. For decades, Hamine presided over a
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  Speaker 1: government openly hostile to American interests. The historical record reflects
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  Speaker 1: that hostility clearly. The confrontation between Iran and the United
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  Speaker 1: States began almost immediately after the nineteen seventy nine Iranian Revolution,
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  Speaker 1: when revolutionary students seized the US Embassy in Tehran and
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  Speaker 1: held sixty six Americans hostage for four hundred and forty
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  Speaker 1: four days, a crisis that severed diplomatic relations and reshaped
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  Speaker 1: US Iran relations for generations. Violence soon expanded beyond Iran's borders.
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  Speaker 1: In nineteen eighty three, a suicide bombing destroyed the US
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  Speaker 1: Embassy in Beirut, killing sixty three people, including seventeen am Americans.
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  Speaker 1: Six months later, a truck bomb leveled the US Marine
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  Speaker 1: barracks in Beirut, killing two hundred and forty one American
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  Speaker 1: service members. Has Belah widely assessed by US intelligence officials
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  Speaker 1: to have been organized, trained, and supported by Iran was
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  Speaker 1: blamed for those attacks. The history carries forward to today
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  Speaker 1: and raises an unavoidable question, how long is too long
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  Speaker 1: Shirley Hamine and his circle had it coming. President Donald
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  Speaker 1: Trump is a polarizing figure. Opinions about him are firmly set.
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  Speaker 1: Much of the heat he receives is well earned and
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  Speaker 1: justifiably raised. He's often narcissistic, crude, and short on the truth,
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  Speaker 1: among other flaws, but it's worth asking whether public reaction
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  Speaker 1: would be different if the same action had been taken
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  Speaker 1: by a president viewed as more traditionally presidential, a president
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  Speaker 1: viewed as a good guy and not a heel. The
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  Speaker 1: policy itself, not merely the personality behind it, deserves examination.
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  Speaker 1: Next matters most. The death of a leader does not
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  Speaker 1: automatically bring peace, but it better ensures a non nuclear Iran,
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  Speaker 1: an opportunity for the Iranian people to determine their own future,
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  Speaker 1: and perhaps a path toward greater regional stability. Americans will
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  Speaker 1: debate the wisdom of this moment. They should debate is
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  Speaker 1: healthy in a democracy, and all viewpoints deserve consideration. Someone
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  Speaker 1: who raises concerns over US action in Iran or outright
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  Speaker 1: opposes it should not be villainized or labeled unpatriotic. Their
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  Speaker 1: voice is protected by the same rights protecting those of
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  Speaker 1: supporters and wholly required in a democracy. But amid disagreement,
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  Speaker 1: one principle should remain constant support for the men and
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  Speaker 1: women in uniform carrying out national policy, and prayers for
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  Speaker 1: both our troops and the leaders charged with decisions that
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  Speaker 1: carry enormous consequence. Many West Virginians will need the love
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  Speaker 1: and support of neighbors moving forward as they deal with
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  Speaker 1: the knowledge that family and friends serving in the region
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  Speaker 1: are close to harm. May they find peace in this time,
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  Speaker 1: and may their loved ones remain safe and protected as
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  Speaker 1: they serve our country. To read the full commentary, visit
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  Speaker 1: the website wv metronews dot com.