Thomas Wictor

Whenever I read or hear an accusation, it goes into the “Open” file in my head. Then I research it. Usually it takes me only a few minutes to find the truth. I’ve done this for such a long time that I can predict beforehand whether or not a claim will have any basis in fact. Though I’m wasting my time saying this, I urge everyone to refrain from repeating an allegation unless you’ve looked into it.

Last year I spent much of my time defending Israel against lies. Now—without knowing it was going to happen—I find myself defending Saudi Arabia against lies. The reason I’m defending Saudi Arabia is because like Israel, the nation is making a sincere effort to improve the Middle East. I no longer have any doubts about Saudi motivations. The actions of the Saudis have proven to me that I can trust them to keep their word.

That doesn’t mean I agree with everything Saudi Arabia does, but I don’t agree with everything my brothers Tim and Eric do. The point is, I could hand Tim or Eric a loaded gun and not worry about my safety. I don’t worry that the Saudis have a nefarious secret plan.

So, because I support what the Saudis are doing for benefit of everyone in the Middle East, and in the interest of fairness and the truth, I have to debunk this lie.

On September 24, 2015, a stampede at Mina, Saudi Arabia, killed an unknown number of people during the annual Hajj, the pilgrimage to Mecca that adult Muslim males are required to make at least once during their lifetimes, if they’re physically and financially able. The official death toll is 769, but other sources put it at well over 1100.

I’m not Muslim. It’s not my place to take sides in the debate over how this happened or who’s responsible. What matters to me at this moment is the lie that the Saudis used construction equipment to clear away the dead like garbage.

This lie has been repeated all over the world. A Google Images search of less than a minute would’ve shown the truth. First, copy the tiny photo that everyone used.

Then go to Google and click “Images” (red arrow).

Here’s Google Images.

Now drag that little photo from your desktop to the search window and drop it (red arrow).

The search results will say, “No other sizes of this images found,” but look below, at “Visually similar images” (red arrow).

By clicking “Visually similar images” and looking for less than ten seconds, you’ll find the truth.

The construction equipment was used to remove the clothing and personal effects of the dead, not their bodies.

Other photos prove that I’m right.

I first saw this lie on Iranian social-media accounts. For whatever reason the world is in love with Iranian propaganda. The Islamic Republic of Iran is the most destructive nation-state in human history. Iran arms, trains, and finances terrorists all over the globe. The mullahs combine the worst of organized crime, government, and religion. They create chaos for several reasons.

Protection: The stronger the mullahs make the Islamic State, Hezbollah, Hamas, the Houthis, the Mexican Zetas drug cartel, the Badr Organization, Liwa Abu Fadl al-Abbas, etc., the more likely it is that victims of those groups will beg Iran to call off the dogs. It’s classic mafia strategy.

“That’s a nice business you got here. Be a shame if anything happened to it.”

Weakening rivals: By building up the enemies of, say, the Gulf Cooperation Council, Iran forces those nations to spend money and time defending themselves.

Filling power vacuums: The weaker a nation becomes, the easier it is for Iran to exert its influence over it.

Personal enrichment: All dictators live in luxury, debauching themselves with food, sex, liquor, drugs, and cruelty.

The mullahs cause suffering because they enjoy it. None of them are kept up at night, unable to sleep because of soul searching. Those addicted to power rationalize their actions, if they think about them at all.

What I’ll never understand is why the press and NGOs embrace transparent lies promulgated by the most universally detrimental regime that the world has ever seen. There’s literally nothing the mullahs do that isn’t negative. They’ve destroyed millions of lives, yet for some reason almost everybody treats them with respect bordering on servility.

During the American intervention in Iraq, Iranians and their proxies killed thousands of American troops. One of the nastiest weapons Iran developed is called the explosively formed penetrator (EFP).

The EFP was so powerful that the US adopted armored trousers known as “gunners’ pants” for the soldiers who manned machine guns and grenade launchers on Humvees and mine resistant ambush protected vehicles (MRAPs).

Gunners’ pants were worn not to protect against EFPs; their function was to keep the parts of the gunner’s exploded legs in one place so that they could be reassembled as best as the doctors could.

The US knew that the Iranians were manufacturing the EFPs, but according to former UN ambassador John R. Bolton, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice counseled President George W. Bush against American military retaliation because Iran’s cooperation was necessary to achieve peace between the Arabs and Israel.

Finally in 2007 President Bush saw the light. Special forces from the US, the UK, and Australia went into Iran and killed weapons runners. The Sunday Times piece I just linked doesn’t go into the detail I was given. Special operators told me that an entire border town was destroyed. The EFP factory was leveled, the weapons runners were all killed, and so were the financiers and Quds Force operatives running the whole mess.

No retaliation from Iran. More importantly, they stopped killing American troops.

The mullahs never had any intention of helping bring about peace in the Middle East. Over 4400 Americans were killed in Iraq, and now the Saudis, Israel, and their allies are going to overthrow the mullahs anyway. It should’ve been done years ago.

Listen to the Saudis.

Prince Sultan bin Khalid Al-Faisal, a grandson of the late Saudi King Faisal and a nephew of the kingdom’s recently deceased longtime foreign minister, Saud al-Faisal, told an audience on Capitol Hill that Saudi Arabia is prepared to lead the Middle East against a host of threats, including “increasing Iranian incursion into other states’ affairs” and the turmoil that has followed the so-called Arab Spring.

Sultan, 48, who recently retired from active duty after 20 years in the Saudi military, said he was not speaking on behalf of the Saudi government. But his comments echoed accusations by Saudi officials that Iran is actively intervening in conflicts in Yemen and other Arab countries…

Sultan, who had extensive training in the United States, including in the US Navy SEAL program, and led development of the Saudi navy’s special forces, said the Saudi role in regional conflicts “is very much misunderstood by many in the international community and some of our Muslim brothers.” Situated “in a region of turmoil, revolutions and occupation … Saudi Arabia has to survive and maintain a stable and viable government,” Sultan said. “We do not seek to become an expansionist country … export revolutionary ideas [or] project power through far-off lands.”

I believe him. Saudi Arabia has chosen such a difficult road for itself that the kingdom’s motives can’t logically be questioned. If the Saudis wanted an empire, they would’ve had nuclear weapons shipped in from Pakistan, and they wouldn’t have trained the Yemenis to fight like the best western special operators.

In fact the Saudis are arming and training just about everyone in the region so well that these nations will be able to easily resist Saudi imperialism.

It’s perfectly legitimate to criticize Saudi Arabia. But criticize the Saudis for things they do, not for lies that the Iranians spread about them.