Supreme Leader’s Speech to Air Force Commanders

Supreme Leader’s Speech to Air Force Commanders
08/02/2012

The following is the full text of the speech delivered on February 8, 2012 by Ayatollah Khamenei the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution in a meeting with Air Force commanders.

In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful

I would like to welcome you dear brothers and youth and I extend my congratulations on these blessed days which evoke a lot of memories: the sacred birthday anniversaries of the Holy Prophet (s.w.a.) and Imam Sadiq (a.s.), the 22nd of Bahman and the 19th of Bahman, which is considered an unforgettable memory and a brilliant day of the Revolution.

I insist that the 19th of Bahman should be commemorated every year and over the past years I have arranged meetings with the honorable members of the Air Force to commemorate the occasion. The purpose of commemorating the 19th of Bahman is not just to keep alive a memory although it is valuable to keep lovely and glorious memories alive. However, there are two things that are important to me. One is learning lessons from the past. For example, when we remember the memory of the 19th of Bahman, we learn a lesson from this event. That lesson is action, innovation, resistance, timely work and its effect on the movement of our society and country. Although the structure of the Army was not taghuti before the Revolution, the leaders were taghuti. The Army was from among the people. This is clear. It was clear to us from the beginning and it became clear to the people over the years. But showing the manifestations of this populist nature and playing a role in popular movements is a different matter. This would be impossible unless an outstanding and notable movement takes place in the Army and this was what happened on the 19th of Bahman.

Today when you take a look at the event that took place on the 19th of Bahman, the importance of the event might not be very clear to you. I myself witnessed this event with my own eyes: I attended the meeting with the brothers from the Air Force in Alawi School and witnessed their brave move. Those of us who were witness to the event have a different feeling. The event that took place on the 19th of Bahman was a great breakthrough. Air Force officers and pilots openly and explicitly expressed their support for the Revolution. They looked the taghuti regime in the eye and said “no” to it. This was a great event. This move proved effective, an appropriate and timely move that could not have been accomplished by dormant and hidden sentiments. Action and innovation would have such an effect in all arenas. During the war, there was a particular arena and today there is a different arena. At every historical juncture and in every arena, timely presence, time work and timely action can have such a great effect. This is the first point.

The second point is that we should learn lessons from this event for the future. We must not limit ourselves to the past. Being satisfied with achievements of the past is one of the problems that might afflict human communities, nations and groups of people: musing over achievements of the past and feeling proud while failing to take actions at the level of those achievements. Of course, today our Air Force and Army are not comparable to those days. There is a world of difference. Great achievements have been made. Permanent accomplishments have been achieved. There is no doubt in this regard, but it is necessary for you to look at the future. The future that awaits us is important and crucial. If a country is determined to restore its dignity, identity, interests and security, it needs innovation and hard work. It is not possible to achieve lofty goals by sitting aside, sleeping and ignoring what is going on around oneself. The fact that Islamic communities and countries suffered from backwardness for two, three hundred years was due to this lack of vigilance and today all of us are paying the price for this backwardness. In our region and in other Islamic regions, governments used to boast about their past achievements, but their actions were not appropriate for their existing situation and their future. Others acquired knowledge, accumulated experience, achieved technological advances and started a movement to conquer the world. This was while we fell into their trap and lost everything we had. What I mean by “we” is not just Iran: Iran, the regional countries, North African countries, the countries that are located to the east of our country, and the entire Islamic region were suffering from lack of vigilance. This lack of vigilance leads to problems such as being satisfied with superficial achievements and failing to think of moving forward and building one’s future.

Of course, when the people of nations awaken, their awakening automatically leads to certain activities. It is just a matter of time. These activities can either be fast, efficient and above the global average, or they can be slow in a way that we fail to catch up with the rest of the world. This is because the rest of the world is not sitting idly by. We are making determined efforts and we are developing our countries, but is the rest of the world not doing the same? Our rivals are also making efforts and developing their countries. On the whole, our efforts must enable us to move forward faster than the opposing camp. Then we can be hopeful about the future.

Make intensified efforts as far as organization, building military equipment, training and strengthening moral education are concerned. This has been my advice to all our youth and members of the Air Force and the Armed Forces. Everybody should make intensified efforts: the government, the officials of the country and different sectors, especially the Armed Forces that are one of the important organs of the country. These efforts should be purposeful and significant.

Fortunately, today it has become clear that the movement of the Islamic Republic is righteous. You see that our slogans, which used to be shouted only by the Iranian nation until recently, have engulfed the entire region today. The countries which used to be humble followers and pawns of the arrogant powers have joined the Iranian nation as progressive forces, thanks to the determination of their people. They are pursuing the same goals. They are shouting the same slogans. This is the result of your progress. This means that the Iranian nation has managed to find friends and supporters over the past three decades. We are not claiming that we gave rise to these movements. This is not a logical claim. But it is also illogical to say that the awakening of the Iranian nation – and the uproar it has caused over the past three decades – has had no effect on the awakening of other nations. This claim is not logical either and this is obvious. Today all interpretations and analyses say the same thing: that Iran was the mother of Islamic Awakening and the Islamic movement. This is what is stressed today in the analyses presented by foreign analysts and reflected by different media outlets and news websites. This shows the righteousness of our movement.

The Islamic Republic and the Revolution that gave rise to this movement are moving towards a real, permanent and stable identity that can be defended against different kinds of aggression: Islamic identity, reliance on Allah the Exalted, feeling proud of being a Muslim, relying on the capacities that Allah the Exalted has bestowed on us as individuals and nations, and calling the world to spiritual values.

The world did not benefit from indulging in materialism. The world did not benefit from promoting sexual freedoms. Humanity did not benefit from what materialistic movements created in Europe – freedom from spirituality and divine restrictions. These movements neither ensured justice, nor did they ensure public welfare. They neither ensured security, nor did they safeguard the family institution. They did not manage to appropriately educate future generations either. They proved harmful in all these areas. Yes, a number of company owners, bankers and weapon manufacturers made profits, but the materialistic civilization of the west did not have any human achievements. They neither managed to bring about happiness for themselves, nor did they manage to bring about happiness for the societies that used to imitate them and live under their shadow.

The message of the Islamic Republic is the message of liberation from these inauspicious movements. Attention to spirituality and divine ethics while addressing human needs: this is the same thing that exists in Islam as well – moderation. Neither the extremism and wrong strictness of catholic and orthodox churches, nor the unscrupulous behaviors that were born of a reaction to this extremism in western societies: neither of these is good. Both are wrong. The path of Islam is the path of moderation, the path of justice. Justice has a broad meaning: putting everything in its proper place. In all areas, justice must be taken into consideration, the path of moderation: “And thus We have made you a medium (just) nation that you may be the bearers of witness to the people.” [The Holy Quran, 2: 143]

Today the Iranian nation is among the pioneers of this movement. We build societies and systems. We have a popular movement. Thirty three years have passed since the Revolution. In no other part of the world are commemoration celebrations so popular. It is only our Revolution that is celebrated by the people every year. Every year on the 22nd of Bahman, the people take to the streets in different parts of the country. They hold demonstrations and they shout slogans. This has not been the case with any other revolution. There have been big revolutions. We have seen some of them in our own times and we have read about some others in history books. At the anniversaries of revolutions, a group of people parade past a few individuals and salute them. This was how the anniversary of revolutions used to be celebrated before the Islamic Revolution. They used to arrange a celebration and invite some people to eat and drink at the celebration. It is only the Islamic Revolution which is celebrated by the people themselves. Every year on the 22nd of Bahman, the people step into the arena in cold and freezing winter weather. And this year, you will see that by Allah’s favor and with His guidance, the people will step into the arena once again. This movement is a popular movement and by Allah’s favor, it will continue. There is a popular movement in the country and the Armed Forces shoulder a major part of the responsibility in this popular movement.

I advise all our honorable youth in the Armed Forces and the Air Force to engage in self-education. I advise all of them to engage in spiritual education and to improve the level of their training, organization, discipline, awareness, brotherhood and kindness at different levels as much as they can. These are the characteristics of an Islamic and religious army. In an Islamic army, there is discipline, but at the same time there is a sense of brotherhood among members of the army as well. There is discipline and positive competition between different parts of the army – including technical, tactical and military parts – but there is also the spirit of brotherhood, cooperation and friendship. These are the characteristics of an Islamic military organization. Most importantly, there is preparedness and the spirit of self-sacrifice and this is something that none of your enemies has. Our youth proved this in practice during the war and whenever necessary, they have proven the same thing since the war up until today. They are prepared to lay down their lives and step into the arena and this is extremely valuable. Preserve this spirit of self-sacrifice, resistance and struggle for the sake of God. Increase your purity and piety on a daily basis and Allah the Exalted will help you in all areas.

I pray to Allah the Exalted to bestow His blessings on the Air Force staff and personnel, their honorable families and their wives and children. I pray to God to help the people in charge of different parts of this important and critical organization to fulfill their responsibilities in the best possible way.

Greetings be upon you and Allah’s mercy and blessings

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