Isn't it ironic

[cgrindley]

That Saddam Hussein and Bush essentially agreed on one issue: that Iran was a threat? SH, bizarrely enough, was perfectly willing to be periodically bombed by the US in order to convince Iran that he had a WMD deterrent to any invasion they might offer. Wouldn't it have been easier just to acknowledge that Iran really isn't much of a threat to anyone? It's not like they've invaded any surrounding countries in living memory... matter of fact, Iran has NEVER invaded one of its neighbors.

Whether or not Iran's bluster towards Israel represents an actual threat to Israeli autonomy is another issue. I doubt that Iran has any serious designs on an actual and effective destabilization of Israel--I think that they merely want the uncertain status quo to continue, essentially using the haplessly naive "palestinians" to keep the region free from any sort of lasting prosperity. I really do believe that Hamas' political incompetence could only possibly represent a purposeful Iranian attempt to damage "palestinian" interests. But given the attitudes of the other Middle Eastern nations to the "palestinians," it's likely that Hamas and that other bunch of idiots, Hezbollah, were deliberately organized to ensure the people in Gaza and the West Bank stay in an arrested state of development. Perhaps Iran would be well advised to keep in mind SH's tragic lesson.