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Source: http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Op-EdContributors/Article.aspx?id=168684
Neutralizing Iran Is Pivotal to any Mideast Peace Negotiations
(Jerusalem Post) Tawfik Hamid - Defeating the Iranian regime is pivotal to solving the Arab-Israeli conflict rather than the other way around. The main obstacle to the conflict is the widespread radical Islamic views that promote hatred of Jews in the Muslim world. It is virtually impossible to have real peace in the area while leading Islamic scholars teach that Jews are pigs and monkeys and that Muslims must fight and annihilate them. Defeating Islamism is therefore fundamental. Defeating the Iranian regime and proving its failure is vital to discrediting it in the eyes of the followers of radical Islamic movements, thus weakening their interest in pursuing radical Islamism as a path. Furthermore, defeating the mullah regime can cause an economic blow to its affiliated militant organizations, such as Hamas and Hizbullah, who resist peace with Israel, and open the path for less radical political players to have more leadership roles in the area. The writer, a one-time Islamic extremist from Egypt, is currently a senior fellow and chairman of the study of Islamic radicalism at the Potomac Institute for Policy Studies.