Friday, November 9, 2007

Towards fresh disaster in Iran

by Alain Gresh
Le Monde Diplomatique

"There’s a substantial difference between declaring that the third world war has begun and identifying the new Hitler. Since 9/11 President George Bush’s enemies have included al-Qaida, the “axis of evil”, proliferators of weapons of mass destruction and Islamic fascism. But now Iran is public enemy number one, as incarnated in its provocative president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.....

Just a year from US presidential elections, and 16 months before Bush’s term of office ends, there is a considerable risk that he may be tempted to rush into a military operation against Iran to cover up his setbacks in Iraq.

In 2006, after four years as Israel’s ambassador to the US, Dani Ayalon was asked if he thought a president as unpopular as Bush could make such a decision. “Yes, I do,” he replied. “You have to know this man. I was privileged and I consider him a personal friend. People who know him know he is very determined. He is certain of the moral supremacy of democracies over dictatorships. The way he sees it, an ayatollah with a nuclear bomb makes an intolerable combination that threatens the existing world order, which is why he will not let this happen on his shift” "

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