Speaking on behalf of Theocracy...

How is it that one of the oldest civilizations on Earth is led (well, sort of--see below) by folks who can't see past their own nose? I am, of course, talking about Iran. If you have not read their president's letter to Bush, here it is.

The guy has some really different ideas about the world. Some of his points are reasonable, but this is not the letter that you send to another world leader with whom you do not see eye to eye. Shoot, even at the worst of the Cold War, there was room to compromise and both sides recognized the need for realpolitik not here. Apparently he feels that people want theocracy as their government, even though their are all of 2 theocratic states (Iran and Vatican City--talk about polar opposites) versus over 100 democracies of varying types, many of which are relatively recent governments brought about by the will of the people.

The funny part is that the theme of the letter is "What Would Jesus Do--Not What the US Does". This is undoubtedly true, our nation is in no way perfect. The irony is that the author of the letter speaks for a country that has openly sponsored terrorism throughout the world, sought to destabilize neighboring regimes, openly calls for the destruction of other nations, does not allow half of its popluation equal rights (women), quashes dissenting voices brutally, and has frequently referred to the US as the Greater Satan and Russia as the Lesser Satan. Oh yeah, this guy isn't even in charge; Ayatollah Khamenei and the Council of Guardians have the final say in what goes and doesn't in Iran. These folks are in no way accountable to the population and are in power because they say God wants them there yet there is no support in the Koran for the style of government they rule under.

I will grant that democracy is not always the best answer up front, but in the long run, some form of democracy is still the best of a variety of bad choices for forms of government (this is a whole different discussion for another time).

Going to war with Iran is a really bad idea, but so is knuckling under as part of the international community and allowing this guy and his nation to have the potential to develop and possess nuclear weapons. Would you want Pat Buchanan as the sole leader of our nation? I think not.