The Iranian Elections

Much of the world is breathlessly awaiting the outcome of the Iranian elections. There is hope in the West that Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will be unseated and Iran will move back from the brink in the nuclear confrontation. First, no matter who wins the election, the mullahs who actually control Iran will not abandon the nascent atomic project as it has become a matter of pride for the Iranian nation (and many of the clerics share Ahmadinejad's belief in ushering in the Mehdi by creating the chaos of the end times). Second, Ahmadinejad will almost surely win as educated, cosmopolitan Iranians who oppose him are widely outnumbered by Ahmadinejad's ill-educated, fanatic supporters. War between Israel, which can not afford to risk their survival on the wishy-washy West and now on America's leader who has suddenly pulled the carpet out from under the Jewish state, which has been left to Iran's devices by her erstwhile allies and whose very existence is at risk, is all but inevitable.

Reek of Weakness

The United States was humiliated at the Summit of the Americas by Hugo Chavez and then again by Daniel Ortega. "BO" showed great deference to the Venezuelan and allowed an anti-US rant by the Nicaraguan to go unanswered. Obama is displaying a craven lack of backbone with real enemies, but America is still, for the moment, the most powerful nation that has ever existed on the face of the earth. Sadly, the President only seems to be willing to exert that strength against our greatest ally in the Middle East-Israel. Israel is being coerced by the US to make territorial concessions and across the Israeli political spectrum, acceptance of a two-state solution has taken place by all by the hard right. Two states are suicide for Israel as neither the Palestinian Authority nor Hamas is willing to recognize the existence of Israel as a Jewish state. A strong nation with a weak leader will produce horrible outcomes for allies, embolden enemies, and make war more likely, not less. Obama seeks accommodation with those who mean America harm and forces allies to compromise their own security if not their very existence.