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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| Iran is making a mistake that may lead the Middle East into a broader conflict. |
| 2007-06-25 |
| Joshua Muravchik, Wall Street Journal . . . Democracies, it is now well established, do not go to war with each other. But they often get into wars with non-democracies. Overwhelmingly the non-democracy starts the war; nonetheless, in the vast majority of cases, it is the democratic side that wins. In other words, dictators consistently underestimate the strength of democracies, and democracies provoke war through their love of peace, which the dictators mistake for weakness. Today, this same dynamic is creating a moment of great danger. The radicals are becoming reckless, asserting themselves for little reason beyond the conviction that they can. They are very likely to overreach. It is not hard to imagine scenarios in which a single match--say a terrible terror attack from Gaza--could ignite a chain reaction. Israel could handle Hamas, Hezbollah and Syria, albeit with painful losses all around, but if Iran intervened rather than see its regional assets eliminated, could the U.S. stay out? With the Bush administration's policies having failed to pacify Iraq, it is natural that the public has lost patience and that the opposition party is hurling brickbats. But the demands of congressional Democrats that we throw in the towel in Iraq, their attempts to constrain the president's freedom to destroy Iran's nuclear weapons program, the proposal of the Baker-Hamilton commission that we appeal to Iran to help extricate us from Iraq--all of these may be read by the radicals as signs of our imminent collapse. In the name of peace, they are hastening the advent of the next war. |
| Posted by:Mike |
| #6 Doesn't Iran claim to be a democracy? |
| Posted by: gorb 2007-06-25 17:17 |
| #5 "Democracies, it is now well established, do not go to war with each other" If I may retort: PFFT! |
| Posted by: flash91 2007-06-25 16:12 |
| #4 Iran provoking a war is not a bug; it's a feature. How else are they going to get the Hidden Imam to come out of his well? Al |
| Posted by: Frozen Al 2007-06-25 13:11 |
| #3 Iran is guilty of believing their own B.S.--a very dangerous thing to do. The article reads like a description of "The Gang That Couldn't Shoot Straight." The mullahs are like many who have mistaken a desire for peace and freedom as a sign of weakness. Others have made this mistake at their own peril. They no longer exist. |
| Posted by: JohnQC 2007-06-25 10:33 |
| #2 If I lived in a country that had 3 earthquakes since last Friday (June 22nd) I would be concetrating on other things, like why god hates us! |
| Posted by: Mad Eye Slesh1205 2007-06-25 08:26 |
| #1 If there is to be peace in the middle east Iran and Syria must be dealt with. Also on my radar is saudi and Pakistan which needs reforming as they threat our way of life!!!! |
| Posted by: Paul 2007-06-25 08:21 |