Ahmadinejad is still a jerk

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has made his reply to recent, somewhat warmer overtures made by the Obama administration.

Not content to say something like, "We look forward to hearing what President Obama has to say" or anything else that would be, you know, constructive, Ahmadinejad instead insists on a US apology for past transgressions against Iran.

Nutty Mahmoud is up for reelection later this year. It would appear he is staking out his position as The Guy Who Will Stand Up To The Great Satan, regardless of what's on the table. Does that sell well enough in Iran to overcome Ahmadinejad's failed policies at home? Is the average Iranian more inclined to wish "Death to America" than look for actual compromise and improved relations?

I guess we'll find out in June. In the meanwhile, Ahmadinejad is doing nothing to change his image as the world's biggest a-hole.

A letter from Mahmoud

Our pal, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, has seen fit to send an open letter to the American people. The multi-page missive was distributed through Iran's delegation to the UN. You can read the translated text here.

I have slogged through the whole thing, and am rather unimpressed with it. You'd think he'd at least give us an update on the Iranian national soccer team's progress, or some other local news, but, no, there's nothing like that.

Instead, Ahmadinejad's letter is a an intellectually lazy semi-diatribe, filled with all sorts of generalizations and, as far as I can tell, not one single concrete offer or suggestion for reducing tensions between the US and Iran. Ahmadinejad engages in some poorly veiled Jew-baiting, a great deal of disingenuous attempted separation of the US populace from its government, and a whole lot of lamenting the plight of the poor Palestinians. He positively gushes about the admirable qualities of the American people, while hammering away at our elected officials and "Zionists" in both Israel and Washington.

No doubt this offering will find at least a small audience of sympathizers in the US, and probably moreso in Europe. However, it certainly seems to me to be so unspecific, so generic, and so meandering that I just can't see it having any major impact at all. The anti-Semitism expressed by Ahmadinejad pales in comparison to that portrayed in Borat, and Americans have already voiced their displeasure with their elected officials.

I would like to know what Ahmadinejad is really up to here. Galvanizing the American people, or even triggering discussion or deep thought, seems unlikely. And if it was just pub he was looking for, he should have recorded a rap album.

Ahmadinejad brings us out of retirement

Hello, fans of CIT. I really thought I had retired to the old bloggers' home, never to virtually pick up pen and rant again. But our good friend, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, is back at it and I had to get off the couch to comment.

Speaking at some sort of conference in Tehran, Ahmadinejad repeated his no-longer-news hypothesis that the Holocaust is fiction. But this time, he didn't stop there. Apparently, Ahmadinejad fears his rating are down, because he threw in yet more shock-jock. The latest: the Americans "exaggerated" the Sept 11, 2001 terror attacks, and "Zionists" were warned ahead of time to avoid the WTC.

Ahmadinejad goes on to say he's not seen a list of the dead from that day, even though such lists are all over the place.

Its worth noting that Obama said, just the other day, he would welcome talks with the Iranian government. Um, maybe not so much now?

Ahmadinejad. This guys is off the charts. It's clear he doesn't give two poops about how he's perceived in the West. It sure doesn't seem like this stuff plays any better at home, although I certainly don't know that for sure. The Israelis are scared to death of him. What the heck is he trying to accomplish?

The Mahmoud Show strikes out in Manhattan

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad didn't exactly charm the crowd during his scheduled appearance at Columbia University today.

After a shockingly cold introduction by Columbia President Lee Bollinger, who described Ahmadinejad as a "cruel dictator" who denied the Holocaust, Mahmoud was visibly pissed. He responded by calling Bollinger's comments an "insult".

Waaa waaa waaa.

Ahmadinejad went on to toss off laugh lines like "In Iran, we don't have homosexuals like in your country." He seemed surprised when the audience gave him a big old guffaw.

I had fears that our buddy Mahmoud was going to be greeted by the pointy-headed "intellectuals" at Columbia like a conquering hero. I'm very glad to have been wrong. Way to go, President Bollinger. You have restored my faith.

Hugo and Mahmoud: Love is in the air

Two of my favorites, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, are touring Iran, holding each others hands (really) and egging each other on with anti-West rhetoric. Next thing you'll know, they'll be registering for gifts at Kalashnikov, FN, and Sukhoi.

Just how does one wrap an Su-30?

But I digress...

Chavez the Commie and Ahmadinejad the ultra-right religious hard-liner would seem to be at polar opposites. But they appear to be a match made in Heaven (or Hell, depending on your perspective), despite their politics.

This seems to me to be a testament to the power of hate. Neither of these clowns has much of anything to offer their populace other than disparaging of the West. Both are stewards of their respective nations' enormous deposits of oil, yet the economies of both countries are failing. Without their ability to rouse the rabble against the Great Satan, they've both got a whole lot of nothing in their respective bag.

I can only imagine how much fun their press conferences are. Bill Maher ought to tune in to steal some material. Who knows, with help from Ahmadinejad and Chavez, even he might be funny.

This guy can't be for real

Everyone's favorite elected nut-job, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, is at it again, this time calling the Holocaust a "myth".

It's hard to figure out what the hell he's after. Iran had been on a more conciliatory track up until recently, but Ahmadinejad's recent statements (calling for the destruction of Israel, for Israel to be moved to Europe, and this latest whack-out) are clearly putting an end to that. You have to think that Ahmadinejad's aim is to stir up support at home, but he's also giving new life to the moderate movement, such as it is, in Tehran.

Another insane statement is apparently always just around the corner with this clown. Stay tuned for more from the Mahmoud Show, coming to CIT any minute now.

Ahmadinejad buffoonery - the gift that keeps on giving

Our dear, dear friend and nonstop source of content, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, unveiled the latest in Persian high-tech today: The unmanned "Karrar" bomber. Ahmadinejad introduced the marvel of technology with the following bizarre, yet entirely in-character, statement:

"The jet, as well as being an ambassador of death for the enemies of humanity, has a main message of peace and friendship."

What?

I don't want to goof on the Iranian defense industry too much - they have managed to do a heck of a lot almost entirely on their own since 1978. But, at the same time, I suspect the IAF is not especially concerned about a bunch of 20 ft unmanned drones flying across the desert. Sounds a lot like Air-to-Air Combat 101, which IAF pilots pass whilst in middle school.

It's hard to ignore the timing on this bit of blowhardity, as the Iranians also just announced (yesterday) they were firing up their first fission reactor.

Iran is certainly doing its part to promote peace, stability, and international understanding, isn't it?

Iranian President demonstrates why Iran holds a special place in my heart

Here are the Iranians, being as helpful as ever in the quest for world peace.

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has called for Israel to be "wiped off the map" and says that a new wave of Palestinian attacks will destroy the Jewish state. Not satisfied with these inflammatory statements, he went on to threaten the leaders of Muslim nations that recognize Israel.

Following publication of Ahmadinejad's comments, Israel has stated that they view Iran as a "clear and present danger". In their position, wouldn't you?

The Brits, God bless 'em, have called in Iran's ambassador to express their disgust over the statements. In the diplomatic world, that's pretty harsh.

Don't forget that Iran is almost certainly working on a nuclear program.

Iran seemed to be coming out of it's 20+ years of Islamic fundamentalism not so long ago. Khatami (the former President) was seen as a reformer, and there was news of student uprisings against the mullahs. That, apparently, has been beaten into submission, or at least a lower profile.

Once again, I have to do the old "I told you so" bit regarding Iran's (and the rest of the Muslim world's) position of power on the world stage. If we could come up with viable alternatives to oil, we could tell these maniacs to go jump in the lake. As it is, they have a ton of money, and have the West by the proverbial short 'n' curlies. An unpleasant metaphor, perhaps, but the situation we're in vis-a-vis these lunatics ain't too savory either.

UPDATE: Tony Blair (I love that guy) has expressed "revulsion" at the Iranian President's comments. And it wasn't the ambassador who was read the Riot Act by the Brit govt, it was the charge d'affaires. Still, that's about as strong as it gets in the lace-panty world of diplomats.

UPDATE UPDATE: Blair expresses "revulsion", while Kofi Annan expresses mere "dismay". Meanwhile, the Iranians tell us we're "overreacting" in a deliberate attempt to smear Iran's reputation in the world. Insert your own comments.

TRIPLE UPDATE: Now there's word of "massive anti-Israel protests" in Iran. They're all state-organized. I wonder how they got the crowd: Free goats to all who attend?

And, while we're updating, here's a picture from the "The World Without Zionism" conference where Ahmadinejad made his momentous proclamation. My question - Why is the banner in English? Hoping for a bit of pub, are we? Well, you got it.

Gas is going up, and we're still driving

From our "Not Exactly News" dept: Even though gas prices are approaching the $3/gallon level here in the D/FW Metroplex of Love, and are higher elsewhere, Americans haven't changed their driving habits.

Um, yeah. That's not a surprise. The growth of the exurbs, the scattering of employment centers, and the dearth of public transport in most US cities makes demand for gasoline most inelastic (as we would have said in ECON202 back in the day).

My job is never going to lend itself to public transportation, even if we had something more than little DART. My clients are all over the place, so I"m going to be in the car regardless. Even if that were not the case, I'm 20 miles from the nearest light rail station, and bus transport is not done here in Frisco.

I"m at Exxon/Mobil's mercy. Not pleasant.

All we can hope for is the rising prices make R&D into alternative economically feasible. In the short term, the oil companies and upstanding individuals like Hugo Chavez, Vladimir Putin, and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad have us over the proverbial barrel.

2006 Review

You’ll read year-in-review articles everywhere in the next week or so. For the most part, they’ll be a beating, and this one will be no exception. I often struggle with things like this: Is it worth wasting electrons on my screen to even go thru this exercise? Will anyone care? The answer to that is, of course, NO. But who cares about any of the crap I write about here? A few of you do (and I appreciate every one of you), but, for the most part, I do this whole bit just for me.

So, with all the usual self-flagellation out of the way, I think this will be some fun to look back at in the near and distant future. Here goes:

News Story of the Year

The knee-jerk is to say something like “Iraq” or “War of Terror”, but that’s pretty broad. If we’re going to narrow it down a bit, then we should focus on a specific event. To me, that’s the mid-term elections.

The Republicans losing control of Congress was no surprise – they’d doing everything in their power to hand it over for several years, and it was only Democratic ineptness which prevented it from happening at least two years ago. Not a surprise, but an historic, game-changing event nonetheless, and an opportunity to make some new moves at last. Would Rumsfeld still be at the Pentagon if the Dems hadn’t won? Dunno, but they did and he’s not. That’s a start, but, obviously, not nearly enough. I don’t know what the answer is in Iraq, but the status quo obviously ain’t working. I’m not going to say “anything would be better than what we’ve got”, because that’s foolish and untrue. However, there are better approaches available, and its way past time to start trying them. The change in DC makes those other approaches a legitimate part of the debate, where they might not have been before.

International Story of the Year

Ariel Sharon’s catastrophic stroke, North Korea joining the nuclear club, Iran starting the application process for the same club, general zaniness from Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Hugo Chavez, and the continuing horror shows in Iraq, Afghanistan, Somalia, and Burma are all noteworthy, but the story of the year in the International section has to be Israel vs. Hezbollah.

For most of the mid-summer, Israel, Hezbollah, and, to a lesser extent, Hamas, Lebanon, Egypt, and Jordan had a serious disagreement. The roots are, of course, one of the most complex, frustrating, and violent differences of opinion in the history of mankind. The immediate cause was the kidnapping (or capture, depending on your perspective, I suppose) of three Israeli soldiers by Hamas and Hezbollah.

The result was weeks of open hostilities, the resolution of which is unclear at this point. Israel certainly did not lose, but it’s difficult to tell if Hezbollah and Hamas did either. Hamas and Hezbollah didn’t win, but it’s difficult to tell if Israel did.

One thing we know for sure coming out of this little soiree is the Israeli govt has lost most, if not all, of its stones. Sharon, and most of the PMs before him, knew that, if it comes to shooting at anything above the platoon level, then it’s time to throw everything up to, and including, the kitchen sink at the other guys. Half measures don’t get it done. However, all Olmert and his tottering coalition could muster was half measures.

VERY discouraging!

Sports Story of the Year

A close one here: Mavs going to the NBA Finals was BIG, but I have to go with Vince Young and Texas winning the National Championship. That Rose Bowl was an All-Timer – I proclaimed it the Greatest College Football Game Ever, and I stand by that. There was MUCH rejoicing all over Texas and at the CIT Compound in particular back on Jan 4.

Entertainment Story of the Year

My vote goes to Sacha Baron Cohen’s emergence as a major comedy star. I have been a fan of the guy since I first laid eyes on “Da Ali G. Show” several years ago. Talladega Nights and, of course, Borat have introduced Cohen to mainstream America. Not everyone gets him, but well north of $150 million in box office for Borat indicates that enough do. Borat takes its place with Monty Python and The Holy Grail, Team America, and Blazing Saddles as the funniest, most offensive movie ever in the history of ever. Shockingly, my smart and insanely hot wife laughed her ass off at it, which is a bet I would have lost for sure.

Local Story of the Year

It’s hardly ever good news in the City of Dallas, and this year is no exception. The big story was the unveiling of plans for the giant new Jerry-Dome in Arlington. The news is all good for Arlington, the Jones family, Cowboy fans, and probably humanity in general. However, its just one more example of Dallas’, and especially Laura Miller’s, inability to get it done.

Best Week of the Year (Personal Edition)

Back in June, I got to attend Microsoft’s annual Tech Ed, this year held at the spiffy new Boston Convention and Even Center. The week-long event was excellent, as always; well-planned, well-executed, well-attended, and chock full of great info. And, since it was in Boston, I got to make a bit of a vacation of the whole thing.

In my 10 day stay, I managed to: spend two days in Providence RI, boating, eating at nice restaurants, killing many brain cells, and generally reliving my college days; see cousins, aunts, and assorted other family from both sides on a number of occasions; go for several runs along the Charles on spectacular New England early summer days; go for several walks through Back Bay and the Financial District on spectacular New England early summer days; get introduced to City Bar, a new entry on my very short list of favorite Boston bars; and enjoy several meals in Back Bays finest restaurants.

I need more business trips like this one!

Big Time Family Story of the Year

There’s a litany of events in the running. Rather than boil it down to a single one, let me briefly list the big stuff:

Our five-year-old son, who has an extremely rare metabolic disease called Tyrosinemia Type 1 and who got VERY VERY sick before he was a year old, started Kindergarten and is learning so much, so fast that I literally can’t believe it. In addition, FISD and the folks at his school have really accommodated him. It took minimal effort from us on some things, and quite a bit of effort on some other things, but we are very pleased with how things have worked out for him.

Our eight-year-old daughter got recruited for select soccer. She’s very athletic, which is shocking, considering how nonathletic her dad is, and, when she’s into it, is an outstanding player. We’re working on the “into it” part, and playing at a higher level should help. This is quite an honor, though, and something we’re all very proud of.

I changed employers, moving from International Network Services to Catapult Systems back in Sept. The work is exactly the same, but I’m doing all of it in the DFW Metroplex of Love. Other than a day trip to Houston and a day trip to Austin, I haven’t traveled for business since I made the change. I actually have time to help Aly with her homework, make the kids dinner, do baths and bedtime, and have a hobby or two. What a revelation!

Robynne continues to add to her legend in the medical community in Dallas, Collin, and Denton Counties. She’s had parents say to her, “I had to wait a month to get an appointment with you, but it was worth the wait.” That’s pretty high praise. She’s had huge positive impacts on so many families in North Texas through her work – it’s great to see her do so well at something she clearly loves to do. She is, quite literally, an inspiration to me.

Thanks for sticking with me thru this outrageously long post, and with the blog thru long periods of less-than-active posting (and less-than-interesting content). Have a great Holiday Season, and a happy 2007!

Leading the UN peacekeeping mission in S. Lebanon – the FRENCH!

Some WONDERFUL news out of the UN today: the French Army (yep, the dudes in blue who have hit zero-for-every-single-war-since-the-American-Revolution) will be leading the multi-national UN peacekeeping force in south Lebanon.

I’m sure this pleases no one so much as Hassan Nasrallah and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. If either of those guys were to choose a country to lead the UN force, I suspect France would be right at the top of the list. Maybe just behind Chad, Venezuela, and Myanmar, but up there for sure.

No word on how the Froggies are going to disarm Hezbollah. Probably, they will taunt Hezbollah gunmen mercilessly with zair reedeeculous Frensh assents. Which should work, right?

What’s the over/under on this cease fire? I have 10 days, but I’m an optimist.

Don’t make any major vacation plans in Northern Israel anytime soon. Unless you enjoy shrapnel, of course.

Oh no, another "I don't understand Muslims" rant

Uh-oh. Pull up a chair. It's another diatribe.

There was an article this morning in the DMN (their site has gone kablooey tonight - I'll link the article when I can get to it) regarding the economic Armageddon facing the Palestinian State upon completion of Israel's security wall. The same stuff is found elsewhere, even in the Arab press.

The Palestinian economy is almost completely dependent on Israel. Israelis employ a ton of Palestinian labor and buy huge quantities of Palestinian goods, but it goes further than that. Israel also controls the Palestinians water and energy supplies, most of their banking, and most of their foreign trade.

If we look back to those heady days of the early and mid 1990s, when Rabin and Arafat were winning Nobel Prizes and peace seemed to be almost within reach, the Palestinian economy experienced rebirth. Investment poured in from around the world, Israelis fell all over themselves to create broader and deeper economic ties, and the Palestinians found themselves employed, their goods selling, and their standard of living rising. Anything and everything seemed possible.

Now, a decade later, with the Intifada, the failure of Barak's olive leaf and Sharon's iron fist, the political disasters at Wye River and Camp David behind us, the Israelis have gone the unilateral route. They have built most of their wall (completion will occur in early 2007), they have brought in immigrants and guest workers to replace the Palestinians' labor, and are apparently prepared to live their lives behind their ramparts, separate from the Palestinians in every way.

This, to me, illustrates the entire East-West encounter in microcosm. Allow me to explain:

The Israelis have willed their country into existence and have thrived in a sea of enemies. The Palestinians have floundered under poor, corrupt leadership, surrounded by countries that profess to be allies and supporters.

The average Israeli is educated, has a say in how he/she is governed, serves the nation in the military for most of adulthood, and contributes to the economy. The average Palestinian has little education beyond rote memorization of the Quran, has only recently been able to vote and most recently voted out the crooks and voted in the murderers, is employed by the government in most cases, and produces very little.

Is this a fair and balanced view of the Israelis and Palestinians? No. If you've read anything on this blog, you know where my allegiance lies. But, even with that, how far from the truth is it?

In his recent letter to President Bush, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad went on and on about the "failure of democracy". I keep hearing this from the East (heck, we used to hear it from the Commies) and I don't understand it at all. Islam, at least the radical element, seems to believe in the benevolent dictator. Is this how they describe Arafat? How do radical Muslims reconcile Israel's successes on the battlefield, in industry, the arts, medicine, education, agriculture, etc against the Arab world's abject failures in these same areas? How do they defend their "education" system when it produces no peace, no wealth, no advances, and leaves the vast majority of the population in abject poverty?

Most Muslim societies in the 21st century are places where basic human needs are repressed, the authorities are in everyone's business everywhere, all the time, and where a once-great civilization of merchants, scientists, artists, and thinkers has been sliding backwards for 800 years. How do the radical Muslims reconcile their societies with the West, where people are free to worship, raise their children in relative safety, make decisions based on experience and education, provide for their families, and live in relative peace?

Wow, I got WAY off topic here. Must be the lovely bottle of icy chardonnay I opened at dinner.

Iran's Leader Writes to President Bush

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has written a letter to President Bush offering "solutions" for solving the current standoff between Iran and most of the world over Iran's nuclear program.

The fact that it was written in purple crayon and illustrated with stick-figure drawings probably detracted from it's contents, however.

If US strikes Iran, Iran will strike... Israel

Not that this is any sort of surprise, but Iranian Revolutionary Guards Read Admiral Mohammad-Ebrahim Dehqani is quoted as saying, "We have announced that whenever America does something evil, the first place that we target will be Israel."

The war of words between Iran and Israel has been going full-bore for some time now, with Iran nut-job President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad throwing most of the rocks, but Israeli PM Ehud Olmert tossing a few himself.

Now the Iranians are promising a first strike on Israel in the event of some vaguely defined US action. Not that we didn't expect anything different.

The Israelis have lived with this sort of nonsense since 1949, but this is the first time the other guys have been so far along the road to nukes of their own. You get the feeling this is going to end very badly.

BTW, I have NO idea what the solution is. Any rational suggestions will be considered as we attempt to formulate this blog's official position.

Iran - I LOVE those guys!

I've spent way too much time bashing Iran. It occurred to me this morning that I really need to change my tune and express my heartfelt thanks to my Persian pals.

Between the religious zealots trying to turn back the clock to the mid-12th century and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad spouting off insane anti-Semitic rhetoric every time I turn around, the Iranians have made my job as a blogger so much easier. Really, since these nut-jobs started spinning off the planet last fall, I've been able to spend much more time with my family and pursuing other activities, rather than combing the Internet for material.

So, big thanks to all our friends in the Islamic Republic. You guys are great. Please keep up the truly outstanding work. I appreciate all of your efforts.

Blog you soon!

Oil prices - Iran has it's big laugh now

My favorite nut-job, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, is enjoying the current surge in crude oil prices.

"The increase in oil price and growth of oil income is very good and we hope that the oil prices reach their real levels," he says. No indication of what he thinks "real levels" are, but you get the gist.

These smug bastards. Laugh now, you clowns. You'll be back to farming dirt within 100 years and nobody will care what you have to say.

World talks tough to Iran; Iranians have nation-wide giggle fit

The US, China, Russian, UK, France, and Germany have told Iran to stop their nuclear program or face "isolation", whatever that means.

The Russians have gone out of their way to clarify "isolation" as NOT including sanctions. So, I guess the rest of the world will talk to each other at cocktail parties while pointedly ignoring Iran like an ex-girlfriend. Oooo, harsh.

The Iranians are laughing their asses off as the world fumbles for a way to deal with their nuclear program. Iran's barmy Pres, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, has proven time and again that he can say anything that pops into his breezy brain with no significant consequences. Now the whole country is learning to thumb their noses at the rest of humanity while they do whatever they damn well please.

I hate to say it, but I don't really think I'm going too far out on a limb when I predict that AQ or one of their correspondent groups will set off a dirty bomb or the real, fissiony deal in a major Western city in the not-too-distant future. Stamped on the bomb case will be the words "Made in Iran" and a big, smilely mullah. And we'll all wish we had shown some spine back in 2006, when it would have made some difference.

Iranians at it again

The fun never stops in Tehran, does it? The latest has the Iranians hosting a conference to discuss the "scientific evidence" supporting the Holocaust.

Remember that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad recently called the Holocaust a "myth", has called for Israel to be "wiped from the map", and has stated that Israel should be relocated to Europe.

And, in case you've been living under a rock (sorta like me this past week), you may have missed the stories mentioning that Iran has told the EU to take a jump at a rolling donut regarding the Euros efforts to reign in Iran's nuclear program. The Iranians are working on nuclear weapons, folks. Raise your right hand if you think that's a good thing for geopolitical stability. No takers? Hmm. You know, I rather agree.

In other news, Iran's representative to OPEC has called for the cartel to cut back production of crude oil. To this, I say, "Bring it on". The short term impact will be bad, of course. However, in the long term, these idiots are cutting their own throats. As I keep saying, higher oil prices lead to increased research on alternative fuel sources, and hasten the day we (and the rest of the world) tell Iran, the Arabs, and the other fascist OPEC regimes to take their oil and polish their mothers' behinds with it.

Turkey and Iran - not exactly pals

Under the radar recently, both CIA Director Porter Goss and FBI Director Robert Mueller paid separate visits to Turkey. One of the main topics of both visits, according to a variety of sources quoted by Winds of Change, was Iran.

You may or may not be aware of this (I didn't know much about it), but Iran and Turkey are not exactly kissing cousins. Both are majority-Muslim countries, but that's pretty much where the similarity ends. While Iran is ruled by a radical Islamic theocracy, headed by their nut-job President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Turkey represents the other end of the spectrum; it is a secular, relatively democratic country that is actively seeking close ties to the West.

There's long been speculation that Iran sponsors a Kurdish-Islamic seperatist movement that opposes the Turkish government. And the development of nuclear weapons by Iran would scare the crap out of Turkey.

The Winds of Change article is a good read, giving a lot of in-depth information regarding the sore spots in the relationship between the two countries. There are quite a few of those.

More enlightened humanitarianism from Iranian president

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the reality-impaired gent who called for Israel to be "wiped from the map" recently, is up to his wacky antics again. This time, he's questioning the facts behind the Holocaust and recommending that Israel be moved to Europe.

This is the elected leader of major country, folks. Iran is a large, populous, and extremely wealthy nation. The Iranians have acknowledged that they have a large program underway to develop nuclear power, and there's much to suggest that they are also pursuing nuclear weapons. There's little doubt that they are behind at least some of the chaos currently present in Iraq, and there's every reason to believe that their involvement in terrorism doesn't end there.

Where's the line for these fruitcakes? How much are we willing to let them get away with? I'm not advocating military action based on anything that their nut-job president says, but there are actions and, clearly, a mindset there that are cause for tremendous concern.

This isn't going to go away on its own, and I fear that its going to get a lot worse.