We can complain all we want about President Bushs’ penchant for invading other countries to grab oil… but at least he does it under the pretense of removing a dangerous dictator.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on the other hand… is all about the exagerated and frankly dangerous rhetoric.
Saying things like (thank JaneM):
“Israel must be wiped off the map”.
or calling for “the annihilation of the Zionist regime”
None of this beating around the Bush crap (pun intended)! Lets just say what we feel. Ahhh.. I feel liberated somehow. Strangely free from my inhibitions. Thanks Mahmoud.. you’ve made my day.
Sillyness aside. This is not the sort of thing you want to hear from a nation poised to develop a nuclear bomb… nor the nation who currently holds a very large portion of the worlds oil within its’ borders.
As Peak Oil finally takes hold, we are going to want *friendly* states dolling out the last of our most precious of resources… if only to soften the blow… an openly hostile Iran ain’t going to make it any easier.
Hey! We are of the same mind on this subject! (Almost)
However, my concern is actually focused more on the fate of Israel if such rhetoric is to be believed. Iran’s threats make Hitlers final solution pale in comparison…not only for the Israelis but the effect that the repercussions would be for the rest of the world if Iran carries out such a monumentally evil action. Two holocausts in less than 100 years is only to be imagined in science fiction novels.
The devastating effects would be world wide and oil would be the least of our worries or about 3rd or 4th down from human misery, nuclear fallout, future epidemics of cancer in a wide area and the determination of other nations to make sure that Iran couldn’t do this again as well as who knows what No Korea would do if in nuclear retaliation, Iran were wiped out by Israel or the US. When crazy men are in charge of a large group of people comprising a national identity (Iran/NorK), to me the potential horrors are unimaginable.
PS You may have missed this but announcing that “Israel must be pushed into the sea” etc, etc is not a new sentiment in the ME. That’s been the cry since 1948 from most of Israel’s neighbors and various terrorist groups. Iran is just putting nuclear teeth into the sentiment. It also goes along way to explaining the determination Israel has to survive.
Can you imagine Canadians living next door to a much larger US population that wanted to annihilate them? And if Canada were successful in keeping the US at bay by being totally stalwart and consistent in its determination to survive, would you think it logical for the world to condemn Canada for surviving? Would you care? I see Europe’s attitude against Israel in that context. I think the condemnation of Israel by Europe is basically cowardly. The Europeans are too afraid to condemn Arabs and Muslims for their insane hatred of Israel. In this respect the world has truly arrived at the Orwellian model.
Sorry to run on on this subject but it is amusing that you depict the Iranian President’s remarks as “bluster”. Yeah, Hitler blustered in “Mein Kamp” as well.
I see that a couple of European diplomats have delivered strongly worded protests to Iranian officials over these remarks. What’s next? A strongly worded letter from the UN to Iran? Never fear, these reactions won’t get to the level of real adversity for Iran as China and Russia are uniquely postitioned on the UNSC to make sure Iran is not reprimanded too severely. 😛