At the same time, clearly, they're satisfied with him on some level, else he'd not still be wasting air, much less retaining the position he holds. So if he's not crazy, then the source of it is the Mullahs, who will need to be dealt with in some fashion, and soon.

The mullahs can be removed from their positions too, so as long as Ahmadinejad has popular support, they won't try to push him out for fear of a backlash against their own positions.

McCain, unlike Bush, actually would strike Iran. This would be worse than what we have at the moment. Obama, unlike Bush, wouldn't make the Iranians feel under threat, and would make them feel that they have more leeway to be antagonistic and that would be worse than what we have at the moment. I'm no GWB fan, but maybe a pursual of his current trajectory would be an idea...

Uh, isn't it "jaw-jaw," or has Lucas completed his takeover of the world already?

Indeed. It's often written "jar-jar," to both emulate Churchill's speech and make the rhyme more obvious. But, yeah, "jar-jar" makes no sense whatsoever.

Uh, isn't it "jaw-jaw," or has Lucas completed his takeover of the world already?

The US is like the incompetent parent who wishes to avoid confrontation at all cost which is why the kid keeps staying in charge.

The scary result of unswift and certain punishment is that when it does come -it comes at the wrong time for the wrong reason.

That's one major reason that I worry about a McCain temper and payback mentality and can't vote for the man.

While Ahmadinejad is the public face of the Iranian government, he’s by no means its most important player, despite the obsession with him by the media and some American politicians. As has been the case since the 1979 revolution, the clerics run the show with the Supreme Leader as the first among equals.

Indeed. And that raises the question of how much of this sabre rattling that Ahmadinejad is doing, is to mollify the Mullahs, and by reverse, how much of it would Iran be doing, sans the Mullahs. Is he a maniac, ir is acting like one simply a requirement of his position?

At the same time, clearly, they're satisfied with him on some level, else he'd not still be wasting air, much less retaining the position he holds. So if he's not crazy, then the source of it is the Mullahs, who will need to be dealt with in some fashion, and soon.

The problem here is the desire on the part of the Iranian leadership to destroy it's neighbors, not the ability of itself. On that basis, I submit that any attack on Iran's nuclear ability from Israel or anyone else, that does not also take out the real power structure in Iran... the Mullahs... is going to from a long term view, cause more problems than it solves.

That said, apparently this move by Iran is apparently in direct response to the threat of attack. So much for the claim that gunboat diplomacy doesn't work.

While Ahmadinejad is the public face of the Iranian government, he’s by no means its most important player, despite the obsession with him by the media and some American politicians. As has been the case since the 1979 revolution, the clerics run the show with the Supreme Leader as the first among equals.

Exactly. This is why a Kosovo/Iraq style 'regime change' operation would be unwise here. Ahmadinejad is a maniac, no doubt about it, nuclear sabre-rattling, bizarre holocaust denial conferences, a world-tour visiting anti-Western leaders, the whole shebang. But the fact that he's drawn the ire of the West, and the fact that at times Israel (and maybe the US) have come seriously close to launching a strike, in the main because of his policies, and his deliberate escalations (uranium enrichment) mean that the mullahs, and moderate Iranians, want to see the back of him.

Expect Ahmadinejad to go in the 2009 elections.