The shah of Iran exiled Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini to Turkey in 1964. In 1965, he moved to Iraq. In 1978, the ayatollah’s residence in Iraq was surrounded and he was told that his abandonment of political activity was a precondition for his remaining in Iraq. He refused to remain silent. On October 3, 1978, the ayatollah was refused entry by Kuwait. He was also denied entry by Algeria, Lebanon and Syria. Who accepted him? The French.
One would have expected the French to keep the ayatollah on a short leash. Guess again. While in France, he gave 132 media interviews and received almost 10,000 visitors who donated over 20 million British pounds to his cause over just a 4-month period. In February 1979, the ayatollah was returned to Iran on a chartered Air France jet whose pilot held his elbow as he disembarked on Iranian soil. The rest, of course, is history.
The world now faces a nuclear threat from Iran. Apparently, the international community will sit quietly while Israel is forced to protect itself, and in turn, the rest of the world. Undoubtedly, when and if Israel takes military action against Iran, President Sarkozy will be one of the first to condemn Israel.
Of course, the political theory of self-preservation and ultimate self-responsibility under which Israel would take such action would be based on the geopolitical principles of Charles de Gaulle himself. It took World War II for de Gaulle to learn those lessons — lessons that Jews have known for thousands of years. Israel’s security and the indivisibility of Jerusalem are issues for Israel and the Jewish people. President Sarkozy’s time would be better spent protecting the Jews of France.