Gingrich Calls for Regime Change in Iran

Human Events OnLine:

by Robert B. Bluey24 Posted Jan 24, 2006 Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, a potential 2008 Republican presidential candidate, says Iran President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is as great a threat today as German dictator Adolf Hitler was in 1935, and the United States should not wait to help bring about a regime change in Iran. "If we don’t have a very serious systematic program to replace the government of Iran, we’re going to live in an unbelievably dangerous world," Gingrich said during an exclusive interview with HUMAN EVENTS. "This is 1935 and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is as close to Adolf Hitler as we’ve seen. We now know who they are; the question is who we are -- are we Baldwin or Churchill?" (Click here to listen to Gingrich's quote.) Gingrich referenced the two former British prime ministers -- Stanley Baldwin and Winston Churchill -- who disagreed about Hitler's intentions. Churchill proved to be correct in his fears of the Nazi leader, but Britain -- and the world -- acted too late, resulting in mass casualties during World War II. Gingrich told HUMAN EVENTS he foresees a similar situation arising in the United States today with regard to Iran.

Listen to Newt Gingrich

When asked about President Bush's top priorities in his remaining three years in office, Gingrich said atop that list should be overthrowing -- peacefully but most likely militarily -- the government of Iran. "Franklin Delano Roosevelt, in September 1941, when we sank a German submarine while we were technically at peace, did a nationwide radio address and said, 'If you are standing next to a rattle snake, you do not have an obligation to wait until it bites you before you decide it’s dangerous.' "And I will just say flatly, our objective should be the systematic replacement of this regime," Gingrich said. "We should start with all-out help to the forces of independence in the country -- there are trade union groups, there are student groups -- we should in every way we can get them resources. We should indicate without any question that we are going to take the steps necessary to replace the regime and we should then act accordingly. And we should say to the Europeans that there is no diplomatic solution that is imaginable that is going to solve this problem." The wide-ranging interview with HUMAN EVENTS took place as Gingrich prepares to deliver a major policy address at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) next month in Washington, D.C. Gingrich wrote a book last year, "Winning the Future," and is currently revising the paperback edition for release later this year. When asked about his presidential ambitions for 2008, Gingrich refused to rule out a run, although he said he would first wait to see what the Republican field looked like before making a decision. Gingrich's hawkish attitude about Iran comes at a time when pressure is mounting on Iran for threats Ahmadinejad has directed at Israel. Yesterday, John Bolton, U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, said the Bush Administration wouldn't accept a nuclear Iran. Bolton said President Bush wants to exhaust all peaceful and diplomatic measures, "but has made clear that a nuclear Iran is not acceptable." He said Bush is deeply concerned about Iran's potential to launch a nuclear holocaust.