Iran

From the NY Times

U.S. Ambassador Says Iran Is Inciting Attacks.

Iran is pressing Shiite militias here to step up attacks against the American-led forces in retaliation for the Israeli assault on Lebanon, the American ambassador to Iraq said Friday. Iran may foment even more violence as it faces off with the United States and United Nations over its nuclear program in the coming weeks, he added.

Not to mention the fact that Iran is behind the Hezbollah attacks- at least as the supplier of most of the weapons.

In addition to the stepped up repression in Iran of people not stringent enough in their practice of Islam- as the people in the government believe it should be practiced.

Iran is a real problem for the US right now.

One thought: Iran may be trying to put us in the most awkward of positions in Iraq- where we cannot leave unless we do so with the appearance of having been driven out and defeated. If we stay, they fuel the insurgency, we respond, and this aids in the recruitment of terrorists. If we leave, it lends credence to the belief that the jihadis can defeat us as they did the Soviet Union in Afghanistan. Between the rock and the hard place.

How to manage this choice will be the responsibility of the next administration. The current administration is locked in to a policy and seems unwilling to deviate- largely out of fear of admitting a mistake. Ironically, the management of this situation may be best done by a new Republican administration. The Democrats are (1) paralyzed by divisions (witness the senatorial primary in Conn.) over the war in Iraq and (2) equally paralyzed by the fear of the "soft on defense" label that has been with them since the 80s.

The current President's low popularity may actually help the Republicans, if they retain the White House. The candidates for the office will not, most likely, come from w/in the administration (the rumbling for Sec. of State Rice aside). The Republicans can distance themselves from the current President and perhaps find a way out of the quagmire in Iraq while still providing containment of Iranian ambitions.

Without a doubt the "war of choice" in Iraq has made our situation in the Middle East more difficult and dangerous, not less. While our attention and billions of dollars have poured into Iraq, a true danger in Iran- a nation w/ chemical weapons, a developing nuclear program, and a demonstrated willingness to aid terrorist groups- is growing. As we debate the situation in Iraq through the upcoming mid-term elections and into the next presidential election, we must do so w/ Iran as the context for that debate.

GP