An Ultimatum!

Today Iran issued Obama an ultimatum. Try that with "Old Hickory" or even FDR and you might have seen your last sunrise. However, Iran understands perfectly well just who Obama is; they are acting accordingly. Obama’s vacuity of response to the December panty-bomber simply reinforces their conviction (well, Obama did respond, we’ve got to be honest, ordering the TSA’s absurd new reg that for the last hour of the flight no passenger can use the john, nor have anything on his lap - not a blanket, not a stewardess, not even the Koran. My, my.) The mullahs understand that Obama’s characteristic "caution," sort of an affected insouciance is not caution at all, or even unconcern, but timidity at worst, indecision at best.

Ultimatum? It’s true, as we all know this morning. From a news service: "TEHRAN, Iran - Iran on Saturday gave the West a one-month ‘ultimatum’ to accept a uranium swap, warning that if there is no deal it will produce its own nuclear fuel for a Tehran reactor, state television reported. The international community has just one month left to decide ‘ whether or not it will accept Iran's conditions, otherwise Tehran will enrich uranium to a higher level,’ Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki was quoted as saying.’ ‘This is an ultimatum,’ he said.’" Whoa now folks!

We’ve followed Iran for nearly four years. We know its politics and leaders as well as most. Are Ahmadinejad and Khamenei and the rest just plain nuts? Of course not. They’re looking out for their own necks; it’s all they know; they’re thugs who have the irritating habit of dragging God into every misstep they make. And as is the case with all failed regimes, they need an enemy or foil and if there is no one handy then they’ll create one. That’s our purpose, that’s us.

They have no reason to change course. The unrivaled bravery of dissenters which we have all witnessed is nothing more than a nuisance to these clowns. We again saw the outpouring following the Dec/20 death of Grand Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri, a genuine cleric who broke with the ruling mullahs in the late 80's, criticizing their violence and repression. He became the spiritual leader to the opposition. The mullahs response to the demonstration - shoot a few of ‘em. Why not? Because they know perfectly well that there will be no repercussions from a US-led West. They know their man.

Those who have followed this blog understand there is an answer - either an embargo or blockade of Iranian imports of refined gasoline. This leverage combined with internal dissent, and the ruling class would be out on its butt, pronto. Most of Congress understand this reality. Only Obama, the failed leader of the free world, stands in the way.

Robert Craven