June 30, 2004

There are these harrowing stories of foreboding that have been reported from Iran in just the past week or so:
Defiant Iran vows to resume building nuclear equipment

Iran nuclear spill cover-up feared

Western intelligence officials believe Iran's Revolutionary Guards tried to cover up a nuclear accident triggered when weapons-grade uranium was being shipped from North Korea.

The accident allegedly caused Tehran's new international airport to be sealed off by Revolutionary Guard commanders within hours of its official opening on May 9.

Iranian government out of the loop on nuclear policy

The official spokesman for Iran’s reformist government admitted Monday that the cabinet was effectively out of the loop on nuclear policy-making, a domain now in the hands of rising conservative forces.

But then, a lot closer to home (as in right here at home!), we've got real Iranian problems:
U.S. expels Iranians seen filming N.Y. sites / 2 guards at U.N. mission accused of taking video images of landmark buildings, subway
Most ominous of all, is this story in yesterday's WSJ with the same question I had, "What's Iran up to?:"

For a dismaying answer, consider the statement made two weeks ago in Tehran by one Hassan Abassi, head of the Revolutionary Guards' Center for Doctrinaire Affairs of National Security Outside Iran's Borders. (Quite the job description.) "We will map 29 sensitive sites in the United States and give the information to all international terror organizations," the New York Sun quotes Mr. Abassi as saying.

In a June 17 report, Memri -- the Middle East Media Research Institute -- reports a nearly identical statement by Mr. Abassi about compiling a target list of "29 sensitive sites." And also: "We have a strategy drawn up for the destruction of Anglo-Saxon civilization."

That strategy would certainly explain its all-out sprint to develop nuclear weapons, which Iran could possess in about a year unless the West acts to stop it. Also relevant is Tehran's recent announcement that it has allocated $1 billion to resume developing long-range missile systems that can reach targets in Europe and the U.S. Then there's the 9/11 Commission's disclosure last month of Iran-al Qaeda links.

All of which suggests that maybe it's time for U.S. policy to more forcefully and directly support democrats in Iran who want to liberate their country from this terror-sponsoring regime.

It's clear that Iran is preparing a nasty surprise for us or I hope our intell's good enough for it not to be a surprise.
There are still 2 rogue regimes to deal with in the Axis of Evil (and the worse news is that they often seem to be plotting together to get the U.S.).
The more cynical among us (with their core being the Dimocrat Left) opine that President Bush is waiting until after his re-election to really deal with these terror regimes, but I'm not sure we have the luxury of waiting too long and the President Bush I know, love and support will do what he has to do to protect America and Americans, so that if either regime perform an act of war giving us a causus belli, well...you know the rest!
Let's just hope that we don't go the U.N. route again as we did in the case of Saddam's Iraq with the sanctions "process" and all that implies--the obstructionism of perfidious France, the screaming meme-ies of the Left who protect tyranny all over the globe, the spectacle of "made men" like Kofi Annan telling us to restrain ourselves when we try to stop mass murder--Noooooooo!
Iran has committed at least 2 acts of war already (snatching the British sailors and Marines last month, and last summer, they came across the Iraqi border);
can we count on them for a third?
I'm thinking we can.
What's clear is that this war isn't over yet by a long shot... (Gulp!)