Not too much cooking over in Iran, but I needed an excuse to put up this cartoon from Michael Ramirez. I normally don’t put up other people’s work, because if I did on a regular basis then you’d realize how poor my own photoshop phunnies are and you might not come back, but this is just too good not to repost.
I’ve always said that you can’t go wrong with dinosaurs. Now on to the serious:
(via Fullosseous) Iran Threatens to Eliminate Israel
Iran will eliminate Israel if it attacks the Islamic Republic, Iran’s deputy army chief warned Tuesday in words conjuring up Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s threats to wipe Israel off the map.
“Should Israel take any action against Iran, we will eliminate Israel from the scene of the universe,” Gen. Muhammad Reza Ashtiani said in Teheran on Tuesday.
Ashtiani’s statement followed Infrastructure Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer’s comment last week warning Iran that any attack on Israel would result in the “destruction of the Iranian nation.”
Ashtiani claimed Israel was “very vulnerable” and dismissed allegations that Iran was worried about Israeli maneuvers.
This is in line with my analysis on last week’s Charles Krauthammer Holocaust Declaration column. While I have no doubt that Israel is the premier military power in the region, a first-strike by Iran could devastate the entire country given its small size and dense population centers. Granted, the Iranians are speaking of defensive strikes, but the principle is the same. Their treats aren’t to be taken lightly.
Hugh Hewitt has some insight following his interview with Michael Rubin on Iran. They covered the involvement of Iranian forces in Iraq and the Iranian nuclear program. Check it out. As an aside, Hugh was on Hannity & Colmes last night and he performed admirably, despite getting time-gypped for most of the early part of his segment. Here’s something to whet your appetite.
HH: I’m joined by Michael Rubin, who I think ought to be one of the most featured guests on the television and radio, because Iran ought to be at the center of this election, ought to be at the center of all of our conversations. But unfortunately he’s not, because we’re sleepwalking through this election. Michael Rubin, are you amazed at the lack of conversation about Iran in the political arena?
MR: I am. A lot of the discussion about Iran is really less about Iran, and more about inside the Beltway politics, which is very, very dangerous, because the Iranian threat is growing, and the nuance is important….
HH: Does Iran follow our politics to the extent that they believe that John McCain is a menace to them, and they will do what they can to get him elected, do you think?
MR: They will do what they can to hurt John McCain ahead of the election.
HH: That’s what I meant, yeah.
MR: The Iranians are extremely sophisticated.
HH: And so do you think that means a Tet-like offensive in Baghdad and around as we get close to the election in November?
MR: I believe that there will be an upsurge in violence for two reasons. One is that, and the second is that while it’s not on the headlines now, there’s supposed to be the provincial elections in October, which will be too tempting a target for the Iranians. It will be coming just a month before the U.S. elections.
So we’ll see the Iranian issue heat up this fall whether the Bush administration begins putting pressure on Tehran again or not.
Update: I spoke too soon. Here’s some fun from Hot Air that confirms why it was so good that we didn’t let ol’ Nuclear Nutter Butter go down to Ground Zero.
“Four or five years ago a suspect event took place in New York,” Ahmadinejad said in a speech to a public rally in the holy city of Qom broadcast live on state television.
“A building collapsed and they said that 3,000 people had been killed, whose names were never published.”
“Under this pretext they (the United States) attacked Afghanistan and Iraq and since then a million people have been killed,” he said…
Ahmadinejad did not say who he believed was behind the September 11 attacks. On April 8, he questioned how the two planes piloted by Al-Qaeda militants could have evaded surveillance to crash into the World Trade Centre.
Whee.
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