I don't know the ins-and-outs of the IAEA or the NPT or any of that stuff. Perhaps Iran hasn't kept to the letter of its promises, I don't know. (But then India and Israel have either broken their nuclear promises or refused to make them... And what about North Korea?)

But why is everyone making a big boogeyman out of Iran? They have a small military. They haven't attacked anyone in a very long time. They DO say mean things about Israel and the U.S. -- is that now a crime against humanity? As far as I know, they haven't actually threatened either us or their neighbors -- but Israel and the U.S. have continually threatened to bomb Iran. The Iranian leadership don't seem like the most wonderful people on the planet, but then very few national leaders do (WE just got rid of Bush/Cheney for godssake). So what have they done wrong that deserves this tremendous fear that is being generated?

As far as I can tell, the Iranian crime is to threaten Israeli and U.S. hegemony.

Anyone have any other thoughts?

Israel never threatened military action against Iran until Iran started building nukes.

And that's despite the fact that Iran blew up two jewish community centers in South America, supplies terrorists on Israel's borders with weapons, and continually threatens Israel.

Well, first off, there's no proof that Iran is building nukes - so the threats seem a bit one-sided. Also, I've seen allegations about Iran's connection to the bombs in South America, but a) haven't seen any proof, and b) does Israel go to war because Jews are killed in another country? Seems like Israel goes to war for almost any reason, but maybe that's just me.

How does Iran continually threaten Israel? Saying "neener neener we don't like you" doesn't seem scary enough to kill people over.

But most of all, even if all the things you said are true (which I doubt) -- what the hell does that have to do with the U.S.? We're talking about the U.S. President and the U.S. Congress and the U.S. media -- you're talking about Israel. What's the connection?

So what does that tell you?

I don't know. Why don't you spell it out for us like the brave little man you are, instead of hinting around? Then we would have to stop guessing!

It has killed hundreds of Americans in 1983

Those Americans had no business being there and Reagan rightly pulled out of Lebanon after that tragedy.

As an American, I would be fairly pissed off if Lebanese soldiers stationed themselves in my country while their leaders tried to tell the U.S. Congress what to do. I might even condone an attack against those Lebanese soldiers to get them out.

Of course, that occasions looking at the situation from their point of view, something that you and others seem incapable of doing, perhaps because it means seeing those Ay-rabs as human.

Even the IAEA, which is headed by Mohamed ElBaradei (who has no anti-Arab agenda)

That's good, since Iranians aren't Arabs.

Muslims run convenience stores?

The ones I go to in NJ, PA and NY are mostly run by Indians, altho maybe they're Muslim Indians? Should I be scared next time I go in for some gum or a Coke?

The sad reality is that anti-Muslim bigotry is acceptable in much of America now. Substitute "Jewish" or "African-American" for "Muslim" in any of those screeds and people would be up in arms, lots of folks would be out of a job, and there would be calls for investigations and grand juries. Muslims have been dehumanized and demonized -- but it makes killing them so much more palatable, donchano.

I particularly recommend the Pipes link, which makes it impossible to view CAIR as a "Muslim NAACP".

Daniel Pipes is an anti-Muslim bigot of the first water. Asking Pipes about CAIR is liking asking Herr Goebbels what he thinks of his neighborhood Hadassah.

Wonder whether Hannity will allow his genitals to be sliced with a scalpel in order to prove to us all that such a thing isn't really torture. Maybe after he's manned up enough to do the waterboarding thing.

I honestly can't see why such motivation has to be one or the other; why can't it be a mixture of both and all? Seems extremely obvious to me that Israel is part of the motivational mix, just as Glenn and many others are asserting.

It can't be. If you admit that Muslims have any legitimate complaints and that Israel (not to mention the U.S.) has done anything wrong, then the whole house of card collapses. You have to insist that the Arabs and Iranians are just nuts, and not really human, not like the good guys (Israel and the U.S.). Once you walk a mile in their shoes and admit their humanity, you have got to give up the intransigence of the U.S. and Israeli position.

Common misconception. Bin Laden attacked the US to get US troops out of Saudi, nothing to do with the Philistines.

Let's see if we can come up with anything that refutes Mr. Pharisee's point. Hmmmm. If you google "bin laden palestinians" the first thing that comes up is a CBS News article that's headlined "Bin Laden: Palestinian Cause Prompted 9/11"

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/05/16/terror/main4102367.shtml

Nice try, Mr. Pharisee, but no cigar for you.

whether Brooks is simply projecting or engaging in a fatal dose of cognitive dissonance.

Your subhead is a thing of beauty.

This latest letters format is an abomination.

It is fascinating that he completely misses the point. He does not seem unintelligent -- guess it is that large log in his eye keeping him from seeing the truth.