Because, as Cliff May reminds us today, its leaders have said things in the not-too-distant past that merit concern:
"Is it not possible that Iran, should it acquire nuclear weapons, would follow the precedent established by al-Qaeda and attack the “Great Satan” first — leaving the “Little Satan” for later?Ahmadinejad’s genocidal threats against Israel have been well-publicized. But from time to time he also likes to remind his followers that “a world without America . . . is attainable.”Hassan Abbassi, another senior Iranian official, has outlined how that goal might be reached. “We have a strategy drawn up for the destruction of Anglo-Saxon civilization and for the uprooting of the Americans and the English,” he has said. “The global infidel front is a front against Allah and the Muslims, and we must make use of everything we have at hand to strike at this front, by means of our suicide operations and by means of our missiles.”In recent days, Iran’s military has been testing those missiles, launching them from ships in the Caspian Sea. Could they be developing the skills needed to target an American city?"
This is why Barack Obama's past statements, suggesting we should talk with Iran with no preconditions--a terrible sign of weakness--are so worrying.
