Rick Santorum On Iran: 'The Public Is Going To Be Stunned When All Hell Breaks Loose'

Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum warned about the possibility of Iran getting a nuclear weapon Wednesday in an interview with The Washington Post.

"The public is going to be stunned when all hell breaks loose. They're going to ask, 'Why didn't we know?'" he said to conservative Post blogger Jennifer Rubin. He also said he believes that the U.S. could have had a chance to change the regime after the disputed 2009 Iranian presidential elections, which sparked widespread protests. "We could have been in the position during the Green Revolution [to oust the mullahs] if we had publicly condemned the regime, brought in the U.N. and rallied the world community behind the dissidents. We didn't do that," he said.

At the time of the elections, President Barack Obama said he had "deep concerns" about the elections and subsequent violence, but said direct involvement by the U.S. would not be "productive, given the history of U.S.-Iranian relations." Shirin Ebadi, an Iranian human rights activist and dissident who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2003, had no complaints about Obama's response at the time of the disputed elections. "I respect his comments on all the events in Iran, but I think it is sufficient," she said.

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney said in Tuesday night's Republican presidential debate that he favored "crippling sanctions" and indicting Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad at the United Nations for inciting genocide. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich said he would take military action against Iran if it led to regime change.

In Tuesday's debate, Santorum referred to Africa as a country and called for the Transportation Security Administration to single out Muslims for screening at airports.

Western powers imposed sanctions Monday focused on cutting off Iran from the international financial system. The International Atomic Energy Agency released a report earlier this month stating that "Iran has carried out activities relevant to the development of a nuclear device."

Comments

[Quinterius]

09:55 PM on 03/11/2012

Santorum is an ignorant lunatic. He doesn't know anything about Iran. Who cares what he says about Iran. It is just pure noise.

[Haditup2here]

11:29 PM on 12/15/2011

I guess it is time to reopen the wallet and donate. I don't trust any of these candidates in the GOP in not starting another war especially with Iran.

[EspritDeVoltaire]

03:12 PM on 11/28/2011

Is this guy funded by Comedy Central?

[JoAnn Kennedy]

04:41 PM on 11/28/2011

No, but he is from Pennsylvania

[olivertotheandalusianone]

08:09 PM on 11/29/2011

So are Ron Paul and Newt Gingrich, originally (the former more than the latter).

[GlenRastell]

03:04 PM on 11/28/2011

I guess Halliburton didn't pull in enough profit off of the last GOP war for profit.

Besides you have to consider this. War in the Middle East drives up the cost of crude which in turn means more record profits for the oil companies that back the GOP. Given their way all domestic oil will be sucked out of the ground in 50 years leaving the country completely dependent on foreign sources. But hey why should the GOP think that far in advance. They're all expecting to be raptured up to Jesus by then.

[considerthis]

12:36 PM on 11/28/2011

The fix is already in folks. All the top media reported how the latest report found that Iran is well on the way to getting a nuke. Problem is, that is not at all what the report really said. (Robert Naimin's JustForeignPolicy) It's just another search for WMD's that don't exist. They're under the chair in Bush's office, just like Iraq's were. Not to say we shouldn't be concerned about all nukes out there. A better strategy would be to watch Israel's nukes a bit more.

[Lawliet L]

12:25 PM on 11/28/2011

Really? The American public is going to be stunned when we go to war with Iran over trumped-up propaganda about their nuclear capabilities? Can we not even remember the lies and deceit that got us involved in our current ME wars?

Seems incredibly predictable to me. I'll go so far as to predict we will be at war with Iran before the next presidential election; another useful tool to keep people worked up and fearful, perfect for election time. I wouldn't even be very surprised if it happened next month. For some reason, seems like mixing it up with the holidays would ad even more fear and chaos to the situation, perfect for the continued manipulation of the American masses. The War Mongers must line their pockets, after all.

[darrtown]

11:27 AM on 11/28/2011

Santorum doesn't understand the history of Iran-US relations. Even if we said "BOO!" to one side or the other in Iran BOTH would take offense at our meddling. It is to their advantage to be offended and Santorum just does not get it..

[disgruntled american]

11:19 AM on 11/28/2011

Santorum sounds off.

Yah, whenever Santorum speaks, I turn my sound off too.

[Patricia Ladas]

11:13 AM on 11/28/2011

Oh FGS (for God sake) you'll see that acronym a lot in my future posts.

Nine of you are auditioning for the biggest role of your lives in the new play, Occupy White House, opening in 2012, Give it up. The role is already filled.

When President Obama chose diplomacy over war as the best form of communication, you were among every Republicans in both houses screaming "Mistake!". He was "apologizing for America!" He spoke to students at Cairo University. He told them they had a right not to be silenced. He got their attention. They and thousands of others decided they wanted to join our world - they acted. Their newly acquired freedoms are in infancy, yet you don't celebrate their victories. Instead you ask . "What plan do they have - how do we know it won't be worse, that some other dictator will rise, etc, etc., etc." What plan was in place in 18thC America when a bunch of rabble rousers decided they didn't want any part of England any more? They did alright.

So let's review: Egypt, Lybia, the Arab League, soon Syria, Sadam Hussein, Osama bin Laden, Gaddafi...Not a bad job for an apologist I would say.

Mr. Santorum, I'm a registered Republican proudly working on the President's campaign. I'll post that until I've convinced a thousand and more to join me.

[Patricia M McBride]

05:05 PM on 11/30/2011

FGS, so called republican (do us all a favor and stop hiding under the elephant........move over to liberal democratic land since you seem to think that is where you need to be). I care too much about my country to want to see this fool given another 4 years to finish the job of destroying our country for his friends over at the UN. Maybe this time when he runs, he could be honest about his plans for our country and not just use a couple of catchy phrases to whip up the masses. He could try telling people he is as far left as you go and not the centrist he pretended to be to get elected. He might let folks know he is going to take away their parental rights, kill their parents and grandparents by refusing medical care for them (gee their will be a doctor shortage you know and services just won't be available cause the UN says we need to get used to dying at a younger age since heart surgery and knee replacement and all those other services are unsustainable in their eyes and Obama's as well FGS). You are one sick puppy, and truthfully, the republican party is well rid of you!

[Patricia Ladas]

08:51 PM on 11/30/2011

Patricia McBride, I extend my deepest sympathy to you. You are a very unhappy and angry woman. I was not baptized into the Republican Party, Patricia. I registered.

My political choices are based on how I interpret events and how I evaluate the behaviors of people who hold leadership positions in "our" country - not just yours, Patricia - ours; everyone who posts comments on HuffPost. My education level and professional experience allow me the latitude to make broad decisions and to express them respectfully and, hopefully, intelligently. I can only assume that those who choose to respond, whether or not they agree with me, will do so in kind (that means respectfully Patricia).

I have no idea the sources you use in presenting the information regarding early death resulting from knee replacement and heart surgery because there will be fewer doctors. i am not aware that the President is planning "to take parental rights away, kill their parents and grandparents by refusing medical care..." You allude to the President's plan to destroy our country for his "friends over at the UN." I presume you refer to the brown-skinned ones, the Arabs.

Incidentally, this is only a guess. I assume you're a Christian. Has it not occurred to you that Jesus was born in Jerusalem, an Arab country, spoke Aramaic and had brown skin? You must not believe the paintings from which all images of Jesus come, painted by the Rennaissance artists who were white.

Be well, Patricia.

[huff reader]

10:17 AM on 11/28/2011

Yep, nothin' like pickin' on them swarthy people to make ya feel good...

[oldmole1861]

08:21 AM on 11/28/2011

The Iranian public will be quite stunned when bombs and cruise missiles start annihilating them because their government refuses to surrender its sovereign rights to the United States.

[Kiranitisme]

05:29 AM on 11/28/2011

This is how the build up to the invasion of Iraq began. Watch out people, the reason the Republicans are fighting to avoid cuts to defense budget is in their hidden agenda. Did you see who were asking the questions at the last CNN debate? The group who were masterminds of the invasion of Iraq. It is coming.

[huff reader]

10:18 AM on 11/28/2011

Only if they are elected.

I suspect BO and Hillary may know better.

[msjimmied]

11:31 PM on 11/27/2011

For all the fear mongering about nukes, which country would commit suicide by unleashing nuclear weapons? We could turn the entire ME into a sea of glass if that happened and they know it. It's a game with no winners.

[huff reader]

10:21 AM on 11/28/2011

Uh huh.

And who are the suicide terrorists in this equation?

In case you hadn't noticed, MAD doesn't work against suicide terrorists. They don't care.

And enough nukes to 'make the ME glow' would destroy the world. Maybe not exterminate humanity, but certainly civilization.

[GlenRastell]

02:59 PM on 11/28/2011

I hope you're not suggesting Iran would give a bomb to terrorists. Everyone knows fissionable materials are easily traced.

[fixitfakeitcreateit]

05:23 PM on 11/29/2011

Sorry your "we don't want the answer to be in the form of a mushroom cloud" neoconservative rant is DOA on these boards and in this country. WE DON'T BELIEVE U!

[GlenRastell]

03:06 PM on 11/28/2011

Yeah because no fallout would leave Iran. Moron

[msjimmied]

01:54 AM on 11/29/2011

Read the last sentence.

[Sisa]

10:57 PM on 11/27/2011

He has santorum in his shorts.

[HenryS]

09:45 PM on 11/27/2011

The only thing that the public should be shocked by is how the Republicans have learned nothing from the Bush era. Nothing. They are already pushing for another war, again on questionable data and again with questionable motives. How about we worry about ourselves, it is not like we are short on serious problems. How about we trust the balance of power, after all, our ally Israel has lots of nukes, that should keep the Iranians in line even if they do eventually develop a nuclear capacity which is still in serious doubt.

[Rick4646]

07:35 AM on 11/28/2011

They should be shocked, but the GOP is great at distractions from their past policies. They say all this BS; name-calling, fear-mongering, and just flat-out lies to help people forget about what they did wrong.