Playback Editor 01/19/07
In between photo ops with fellow madman Hugo Chavez, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is starting to feel some serious heat back in Tehran.
A united international community led by the Bush Administration has succeeded in imposing U.N. sanctions and generating negative worldwide attention on the extremist regime. President Bush clearly stated in his recent national address that Iran will be confronted if it continues to interfere in Iraq. Ahmadinejad's fiery rhetoric, open defiance and nuclear ambitions are pushing his country to the brink of a war the majority do not want and know they cannot win. It's one thing to hide behind Hezbollah, another to see Tomahawk missiles take out downtown Tehran. Ahmadinejad is feeling the pressure and it's going to get a lot worse.
Score one for the"dunce" from Texas.
I have not heard about any recent North Korean nuclear tests. As of late their banking contacts have been frozen and their counterfeiting operation squashed. China, their only ally, has been pushing them to take a time out and get rational. They are back at the negotiating table and progress is being made. This is not the result of Bubba giving Kim the keys to the castle or a Carter kiss on the cheek. Instead, a Texas style noose has been tightened around a suddenly rational "Dear Leader" and it is the result of another resolute, Bush administration driven international coalition.
Score "anotha for Dubya."
Everybody knows Iraq is a mess. Everybody forgets what a threat the defiant, mass murdering Hussein was and how he made sport of a greedy, corrupt international community. The entire world was convinced he possessed weapons of mass destruction because he used them on Kurds and Iranians. The risk a nuclear armed Hussein posed could not be exaggerated.
As the remains of the towers smoldered, Bush told a nation in shock that we were in for a long war and he would never relent from protecting this country from those who would see it destroyed. At that time, the scavengers who today are trying to cement his political obituary were applauding him as he morphed before our eyes. That they were able to later change colors seemlessly tells volumes about a society that is spoiled and clueless to the costs of our luxury.
Hindsight is 20/20. Many mistakes have always been made during wartime and Iraq is no exception. The difference is that no one has ever had to lead a war in real time and have it critiqued relentlessly by a politically driven far left media. Bush has made mistakes. He is not without fault. However, he is also not without precedent. Every wartime president has made his share.
This being established, there are two points I would like to make.
The first is that I believe the current war debate on Capital Hill will have positive results. Both parties agree that a retreat and loss is unacceptable. America will somehow make lemonade from this mess.
The real loser is the Middle East. The unspoken truth is that the Iraq war is the icing on the cake. No well-intending Western society will choose to enter that hornet's nest again for generations. The white man's burden is over. The west, exhausted and disgusted by barbaric, tribal mentalities and a complete lack of accountability now see the bridge between civilizations as an evolutionary one. Maybe a Hussein was needed to force peace at the water hole after all. They may not say it out loud but they believe it.
The second point is that there would be no international community worth a damn if George Bush did not take out Saddam. Countries previously content to milk their share of the corruption, are now held accountable for their actions. The stakes have been raised and they are on board for confronting Iran and North Korea. At the same time it's also the reason why there haven't been any suicide bomb attacks in the US. No one wants to be the state sponsor held accountable by this sheriff.
Much of the world is convinced Bush is an ignorant warmonger who is in way over his head. In our country the media delights in distancing themselves from this inarticulate buffoon. They never liked him and they never will. However in a world filled with atrocity, the elite sleep at night knowing come High Noon he can and will take out the bad guys.
I can only imagine the sleepless nights the editors in New York and London had over the decisions to publish these articles.
Rebuke in Iran to Its President on Nuclear Role
By NAZILA FATHI and MICHAEL SLACKMAN
Published: January 19, 2007
TEHRAN, Jan. 18 — Iran’s outspoken president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, appears to be under pressure from the highest authorities in Iran to end his involvement in its nuclear program, a sign that his political capital is declining as his country comes under increasing international pressure.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/19/world/middleeast/19iran.html?hp&ex=1169269200&en=2cf7a23e1a8d0a8e&ei=5094&partner=homepage
'Progress' in N Korea-US talks
North Korea and the US say they have had positive talks over Pyongyang's nuclear weapons programme.
But the US denied reports from the North that an agreement was reached when chief negotiators for the two sides met in Berlin this week.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/6277551.stm
