The liberals of Elliot Ave are fond of lecturing us that Iran isn't really a threat to the United States or the West, the mullahcracy is simply misunderstand...or something like that (past coverage here, here, and here).
Perhaps recent confirmation that the current Iranian regime continues to give the diplomatic one-finger salute to the IAEA indicates that something is seriously amiss. Note that the Elliot Avenue liberals couldn't have missed this; the story is in the New York Times after all.
Seriously, when was the last time the IAEA was described as being too harsh on any of the countries it has investigated (except at times by the countries themselves?). When the IAEA is finally willing to say publicly that there is a serious problem, there might just be one.
The world's leading state-sponsor of terrorism won't come clean on its nuclear program. We can expect an editorial soon from the P-I explaining why this is W's fault, not Iran's. In the meantime, there is nothing to worry about here. Move along now.
Posted by Eric Earling at May 27, 2008 11:07 PM | Email ThisAs for calling them the world's leading state sponsor of terrorism, well, that's kind of hyperbole, don't you think?
Posted by: Andrew Brown on May 28, 2008 07:32 AMThe problem is Iran has threatened to wipe Israel off the map. I think if I was a Soverign nation as Israel is I would have a problem with Irna having a the ability to build a weapon that coul dcarry out their threats.
As for the "world's leading state sponsor of terrorism" statement just ask Hezzbollah, Hammas, and the Shitte Militia's in Iraq where they get their weapons, money and training from and the evidence points to Iran.
Posted by: TrueSoldier on May 28, 2008 07:41 AMAfter all, every time that I can think of that they have been invaded since 1948, they ended up with more land, lol.
Anyway, threats are nothing. We've been threatened and we've threatened as well. Both are sovereign nations and big boys, let them deal with it instead of wasting our resources on them.
Posted by: Andrew Brown on May 28, 2008 07:48 AMIran may be a regional threat, there is not doubt about that, but a threat to the world? Give me a break. The terrorists Iran supports are involved in regional issues. They don't support Al Qaeda.
In fact given the articles the last few days about the conflict in the Jihadist camp between Al Quaeda Zawahari and the originator of the Jihadist theory Dr. Fadl, it looks like more and more that Al Quaeda has overreached and shot itself in the foot. Dr. Fadl's original vision was to get rid of the Egyptian western oriented, modernizing leaders for traditionalist. His beef wasn't with US (it was with Isreal over the 1967 war where Egypt was disgraced). More and more in Muslim countries, they are rejecting the extreme violence of Al Quaeda and its innocent muslim bystander victims. You see this in Iraq where Al Quaeda overstepped and the Sunni's turned against them for killing fellow Sunni tribes. You see this in Pakistan where support in the Northern Region where Al Quaeda trains has dropped from 70% to single digits after the Bhuwata assassination. Al Quaeda has George Bush foot in the mouth disease and has overplayed its hand. What we need now is a President that is focused on taking them out once and for all instead of being distracted by Iraq and Iran. Al Quaeda, not Iraq, not Iran, attacked us on 9/11. We need to remember who the real enemy is here and not by the Bush pie-in-sky, nation-building excercise of trying to establish American-based democracy in the Middle-East (see Scott McClellan).
Posted by: tc on May 28, 2008 09:54 AM