A small area of agreement

Submitted by Pat (United States), Nov 5, 2006 at 10:07

I share your doubts about Pakistan and its reliability as an ally, but that's as far as it goes.

I'm not worried about George Bush's beliefs in the apocalypse or anything else only because I believe that George Bush still believes in rule of law. I haven't seen George Bush try to denounce Islam or threaten its existence because of the actions of some of its adherents. He still says Muslims are beautiful people, and most probably are. I guess you were equally worried about Jimmy Carter's control of the nuclear button? He came from the same evangelical background.

The leader of Iran or any other country is entitled to his own religious fantasies. The question is: given power, will he attempt to make his fantasy a reality? We've seen the results of messianic leadership in Nazi Germany. Khomeini and/or Ahmadinejad have said words to the effect that they would gladly destroy Iran if it meant the advancement of the caliphate and the return of the mahdi. I've seen no indication of that from George Bush, but I have heard countless orations from Shia and Sunni Muslims that DO plan to make the words of a seventh century charlatan come true.

I haven't seen anyone try to make Ahmadinejad look "crazy". He's the one who says things like Israel must be wiped off the map. Is that okay with you? Where Pakistan is concerned, we're in a no-win situation. Unfortunately, as in the Cold War, we are forced to deal with people we wouldn't ordinarily deal with. Musharraf is the prime example. As much as we want to keep our hands clean, it's not always possible.

I don't see how you view Iran as a country that poses no threat to the United States. It is the chief state sponsor of terrorism. Prior to 9/11 its chief instrument, Hezbollah, was responsible for more American deaths than all other terrorist groups combined. Its people recently observed the anniversary of their seizure of the US embassy with huge crowds chanting death to America. Is that just a few people having fun?

The goal of the leaders of Iran and of several other Muslim states remains the establishment of a caliphate across the entire world and the elimination of all other faiths. Not even atheism is okay with them. I view that as a threat to me and my existence. I'm not prepared to kneel and pray toward Mecca five times a day. Are you? Is that the world you want to leave to your children?

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