Running into the Arms of Terrorists

Asked what it would take to begin talks with the United States to resolve the standoff, Ahmadinejad told Metro TV that Iran "is ready to engage in dialogue with anybody."

"There are no limits to our dialogue," Ahmadinejad told Metro TV station. "But if someone points a weapon at your face and says you must speak, will you do that?"

I think Ahmadinejad is talking for himself, and I'm a little disturbed by the media's insistence on focusing on him, as he controls neither the government or the military in Iran.

And it's more disturbing that he got such a good response in the largest Muslim country on Earth, the nominally moderate nation of Indonesia:

The students who crammed into auditoriums at the Islamic University and, earlier in the day at the University of Indonesia, applauded Ahmadinejad enthusiastically and listened intently throughout his 60- to 90-minute speeches.

They held signs saying "Iran in our Hearts," and "Nuclear for Peace," and some praised him for not wavering in the face of opposition from the United States.

"I loved him, he was very charismatic," said a first-year economics student who identified herself as Deslina. "If it comes to that, they should go to war. If I could, I would fight the United States."

Nobody wants war over this except the most committed neocons. And they're doing the best they can to drive all of the Islamic world into the arms of the terrorists. That would prove their theories about Islam, which are no different than the Wahhabist death cult rhetoric of bin Laden. "Every Muslim wants dominion over the globe," they say. And to prove it, they elminate any possibility for moderation. It's a vicious circle that will lead to the clash of civilizations they desire if we don't keep paying attention.