Khrushchev-nejad Bangs His Shoe

Iran's President Ahmadinejad banged his shoe at the U.N. today and demanded the body take action against the U.S. for not ruling out nuclear strikes against Iranian nuclear facilities.

In a letter to U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan obtained by The Associated Press, Iran's U.N. Ambassador Javad Zarif called President Bush's refusal April 18 to rule out a U.S. nuclear strike on Iran and a similar follow-up statement by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice "illegal and insolent threats."

Of course, just three days ago, Khrushchev-nejad said the following about his country's respect for U.N. resolutions:

"Those who want to prevent Iranians from obtaining their right, should know that we do not give a damn about such resolutions," Ahmadinejad told a rally in northwest Iran, the official IRNA news agency reported.

Ah, hypocrisy. On another note, it's uncanny how much it feels like we're on the brink of another Cold War. An ascendent totalitarian state, presumed to be a threat, begins to arm and exert its influence throughout its neighborhood. The free world notes the build-up and the dangerous ideology of the state and resolves to do something. However, the free world is unable to back up its diplomacy and take any substantive action because of other commitments. In the end, the dictators get what they want, and the West is left with only decades of political maneuvering ahead.

There's a powerful cultural component in the Middle East that makes diplomacy exceedingly difficult, particularly when the issue is contentious. David Ignatius recently commented on it, and it's playing a divisive role in the non-negotiations between Iran and the U.S. Iran can't back down, or even discuss backing down, without looking weak. So, we in the West either have to find an option that saves face for the Iranians (and looks like appeasement) or commit to an overextended hot war or another drawn out Cold War of lesser dimensions. We have crossed a line, I fear, and without the West resorting to military force, Iran will get their bomb.

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