Ahmadinejad's Millions Of Iranian Martyrs

[Kulturkampf]

... For a guy that just wants a little bit of nuclear power, he certainly has a romantic world view:

"Enemies of the Iranian nation must know that by the passing away of martyrs like Fahmideh, the hands of the Iranian people are not empty," Ahmadinejad told a crowd of student Basij members in Tehran, the official IRNA news agency reported.

"And today millions of Fahmidehs are standing fresher and more prepared," he said.

Iran Focus

I wonder, just what kind of things does Ahmadinejad need to say to alarm people? What needs to come out of his mouth before somebody says,
'Geez, maybe Pres. Bush is not just drumming up fear to try to control us... Perhaps this Ahmadinejad character is a little out there, a little extreme... Maybe... A threat.'


Even the French have realized it.
People all around the world are waking up to the notion that there is a grave threat coming out of Iran, but I really wonder what will it take for others to get concerned?


Perhaps Ahmadinejad funding foreign insurgencies (a lot) or aiding chemical and rocket weapon programs of foreign nations?

[KevinTheOmnivore]

The Basij is old news.

It's partly why the IRGC was formed in the first place.

[Kulturkampf]

Sow hat do you make of the greater Iran issue, Kev?

[KevinTheOmnivore]

I write a lot on this for work, so I can't really bring myself to type about it anymore. But I think we need to be concerned about Iran, we should continue to isolate this regime economically and maintain all options against them.

That being said, a popular Iranian dissident recently noted that no Persian has ever strapped a bomb to his or herself and taken the life of an innocent. Much like in Lebanon, there are cultural dichotomies that tug the nation between radicalism and modernity, and we mustn't jump at the opportunity to collectively punish the people of Iran. They are a great country, rich in a diverse history, albeit an often bloody and sad one.

We shouldn't be in the business of changing the regime in Tehran (or Qom, realistically). Iranians will eventually do what's best for Iranians, but from an international realist perspective, this should not be our priority.

We are a primarily reacttive country. We don't engage in policy in the Middle East so much as we respond to it. We must assume that the Iran we're dealing with is the same irrational, radical and totalitarian regime we've delt with since 1979. We must isolate them, we must prevent them from getting a nuclear weapon and we must check a potential Iranian hegemon in the region upon our departure from Iraq.