Sponsored Content
« VA as the model for ObamaCare | Main | Getting Ready for Obama's Presser »
July 22, 2009

Ahmadinejad Under Attack From Reformers Hard Liners Over VP Selection

The strange, strange world of Iranian politics.

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad showed rare defiance of his strongest backer, Iran's supreme leader, by insisting on his choice for vice president Wednesday despite vehement opposition from hard-liners that has opened a deep rift in the conservative leadership.

...Conservative clerics and politicians have denounced Ahmadinejad's choice for the post of first vice president, Esfandiar Rahim Mashai, because Mashai said last year that Iranians are friends with Israelis. There are also concerns because Mashai is a relative of Ahmadinejad — his daughter is married to the president's son.

Ahmadinejad must really be feeling pretty good about things if he thinks he can take on reformers and Khamenei at the same time. Or he's just nuts.

Either way, it's not reassuring that the Obama administration has pretty much let the cat out of the bag and announced that yes, Iran will get nuclear weapons at some point.

"We want Iran to calculate what I think is a fair assessment ... that if the U.S. extends a defense umbrella over the region, if we do even more to support the military capacity of those in the Gulf, it's unlikely that Iran will be any stronger or safer because they won't be able to intimidate and dominate as they apparently believe they can once they have a nuclear weapon."

A senior U.S. official said Clinton's comments should be seen as a public argument that the United States is making to dissuade Iran from pursuing nuclear arms rather than a sign that the United States is becoming resigned to the prospect.

Yeah, that 'senior U.S. official"? Whoever it is that person is an idiot. Of course Iran is going to read it that way and of course they are going to be bolder once they have nuclear weapons than they already are.

Oh and that 'umbrella' we are promising to extend? Does that include all the "unproven" missile defense systems we hear so much about and that are being cut left and right?

I'll be interested to see if this comes up in tonight's press conference..."Mr. President, what enchants you most about the Iranians getting nuclear weapons? Is it the world oil supply being held hostage? The prospects of them increasing their support for terrorists? Or is it the prospect of Israel being wiped off that face of the Earth? And for a follow up...I loved your "mom jeans". I realize that wasn't a question but I had to let you know."


digg this
posted by DrewM. at 04:51 PM

| Access Comments




Recent Comments
Ciampino -- accurate is better than precise: "water ..."

I am the Shadout Mapes, the Housekeeper: "Tolle Lege! ..."

naturalfake: "[i]BRCC CEO: Let's brand a coffee with military an ..."

Ladyl: "Good Sunday morning, dear Horde! ..."

Grumpy and Recalcitrant: "*sips coffee* Mornin' all. Fen: Great cat boo ..."

Pippin : "I never do the book thread. Too busy having second ..."

Lizzy[/i]: ">>Amazing how a lot of people in blue cities are s ..."

rhennigantx: "189 Amazing how a lot of people in blue cities are ..."

Commissar Hrothgar (hOUT3) ~ This year in Corsicana - again! ~ [/i][/b][/u][/s]: "[i]Concur. When all you got is your shithole where ..."

Vanya: "Everyone on the right: Woooo! Coffee has guns on p ..."

FenelonSpoke: "Because I can almost never participate in the book ..."

rhennigantx: "188 >>...reducing God to a rainbow spirit who flou ..."

Recent Entries
Search


Polls! Polls! Polls!
Frequently Asked Questions
The (Almost) Complete Paul Anka Integrity Kick
Top Top Tens
Greatest Hitjobs

The Ace of Spades HQ Sex-for-Money Skankathon
A D&D Guide to the Democratic Candidates
Margaret Cho: Just Not Funny
More Margaret Cho Abuse
Margaret Cho: Still Not Funny
Iraqi Prisoner Claims He Was Raped... By Woman
Wonkette Announces "Morning Zoo" Format
John Kerry's "Plan" Causes Surrender of Moqtada al-Sadr's Militia
World Muslim Leaders Apologize for Nick Berg's Beheading
Michael Moore Goes on Lunchtime Manhattan Death-Spree
Milestone: Oliver Willis Posts 400th "Fake News Article" Referencing Britney Spears
Liberal Economists Rue a "New Decade of Greed"
Artificial Insouciance: Maureen Dowd's Word Processor Revolts Against Her Numbing Imbecility
Intelligence Officials Eye Blogs for Tips
They Done Found Us Out, Cletus: Intrepid Internet Detective Figures Out Our Master Plan
Shock: Josh Marshall Almost Mentions Sarin Discovery in Iraq
Leather-Clad Biker Freaks Terrorize Australian Town
When Clinton Was President, Torture Was Cool
What Wonkette Means When She Explains What Tina Brown Means
Wonkette's Stand-Up Act
Wankette HQ Gay-Rumors Du Jour
Here's What's Bugging Me: Goose and Slider
My Own Micah Wright Style Confession of Dishonesty
Outraged "Conservatives" React to the FMA
An On-Line Impression of Dennis Miller Having Sex with a Kodiak Bear
The Story the Rightwing Media Refuses to Report!
Our Lunch with David "Glengarry Glen Ross" Mamet
The House of Love: Paul Krugman
A Michael Moore Mystery (TM)
The Dowd-O-Matic!
Liberal Consistency and Other Myths
Kepler's Laws of Liberal Media Bias
John Kerry-- The Splunge! Candidate
"Divisive" Politics & "Attacks on Patriotism" (very long)
The Donkey ("The Raven" parody)
Powered by
Movable Type 2.64