Iran Stokes The Flames

Things in the Middle East appear to be getting a little warmer.

"TEHRAN, Iran - President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad declared Wednesday that Israel is a "disgraceful blot" that should be "wiped off the map" — fiery words that Washington said underscores its concern over Iran's nuclear program.

Ahmadinejad's speech to thousands of students at a "World without Zionism" conference set a hard-line foreign policy course sharply at odds with that of his moderate predecessor, echoing the sentiments of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the founder of Iran's Islamic revolution.

The United States said Ahmadinejad's remarks show that Washington's fears about Iran's nuclear program are accurate.

"I think it reconfirms what we have been saying about the regime in Iran," White House press secretary Scott McClellan told reporters in Washington. "It underscores the concerns we have about Iran's nuclear intentions."

This is most troubling but sadly not surprising. There are so many little things that could be mentioned here. A conference called a World Without Zionism smacks of being more than Anti-Israel. How can I as a politically aware member of the world and a Jew not be concerned with this kind of rhetoric. How can I ignore it.

And consider that this takes place in light of the recent withdrawal from Gaza. After all of the pain and anguish there this is almost like salt in the wounds.

Did you notice his threat against countries that try to normalize relations with Israel.

"Ahmadinejad also condemned Iran's neighbors which seek to break new ground in their relations with Israel. "Anybody who recognizes Israel will burn in the fire of the Islamic nation's fury," state-run television quoted him as saying.

Relations between Israel and several Persian Gulf states have been thawing amid Israel's withdrawal from the Gaza Stripin September. Bahrain announced in September it was ending a decades-old law banning trade ties with Israel. In October, Qatar said it was donating $6 million to help build a soccer stadium for a mixed Arab-Jewish team, the first such financial assistance by an Arab state for any town inside Israel."

It is hard to be optimistic when you read/hear about things like this.

Add to this the recent report that Iran is allowing Al-Qaeda agents to roam freely and you can see the beginning of the next battle forming.

BERLIN (Reuters) - Iran is permitting around 25 high-ranking al Qaeda members to roam free in the country's capital, including three sons of Osama Bin Laden, a German monthly magazine reported on Wednesday.

Citing information from unnamed Western intelligence sources, the magazine Cicero said in a preview of an article appearing in its November edition that the individuals in question are from Egypt, Uzbekistan, Saudi Arabia and Europe.

They are living in houses belonging to Iran's Revolutionary Guards, the report said.

"This is not incarceration or house arrest," a Western intelligence agent was quoted as saying. "They can move around as they please."

If this is true then we may very well see military action taken against Iran. Personally I suspect that it is more likely to happen than not. I am not pleased by that, but sometimes circumstances force your hand.

Tags:News and politics,Israel, Iran