the GOP has dragged so much of our country down the road toward fascism that the democratic party nominee is simply going to have to lie about their intentions...imply that they'll take a very tough stand on Iran...when, at least, one assumes, no dem candidate, even Clinton, would not engage in pre-emptive war with Iran, or anyone else.

One assumes, anyway.

I can't blame Clinton for doing whatever she has to to beat a Giuliani or McCain or Romney. This election is too important to screw up. We--and the world--simply cannot afford another GOP president, beholden to crazy neocon hawks. We just can't afford it. If Clinton has to play some hardball to prevent that, I'm all for it.

I also hope she'd never wage unnecessary pre-emptive war, too, whatever she may have to say to get through to those pathetic swing voters who still, apparently, don't know who to vote for.

I like Iran. Sure, the country is run by religious nuts, but so is the US. In many ways, Iran is one of the most progressive countries in the Middle East. If we were able to forge stronger ties, that would only encourage and hasten the progressive elements we would like to promote. Saber rattling simply strengthens the hand of those Iranians who would be our enemies.

Does no one see the irony in one set of religious kooks declaring another set of religious kooks to be scary irrational vipers? It reminds me of when the Catholic church had two infallible popes who both excommunicated each other. Can't we just put the extremists on all sides on an island and let them have at it, while the rest of us get on with our lives already? Before we condemn Iran for its religious zealotry, shouldn't the US examine it's own intolerance? "No, we shouldn't, because we're on the side of the one true God." That's the answer, isn't it? That is also the real problem we have. The problem is not Iran - the problem is religion. Who are the real terrorists around here? Let's put the label where it belongs - on religious nuts of all stripes, in all countries, including our own.

You say: the GOP has dragged so much of our country down the road toward fascism...

Unfortunately, I think it's the other way around. I think our country has dragged the GOP (and Democrats). We have candidates promoting other alternatives. What are their poll ratings? I'm sorry to say that we have no one to blame but ourselves.

The US is one big gated community. What fraction of US citizens have ever left the country? What fraction have never even left their home town? I don't support immigration reform because I want cheap strawberries. I support immigration reform because I want to break the back of our ignorant isolationist cracker white judaeo christian majority. I would like to welcome all of the wonderful Iraqi people we have so grievously displaced with open arms. Let them in by the millions!

Mr. Cole's article totally misses the point. Iran and especially its domestic energy sector is extremely vulnerable to sanctions and an attack would not be necessary to derail its atomic bomb program if they were imposed. However, such sanctions are opposed by Russia, China, and our supposed European allies for the exact same reason they opposed ousting the Saddam Hussein regime: they're making piles of filthy euros, rubles, and yuan off of the situation and don't want the gravy train disrupted. Apparently sanctions only interest US progressives when they're against US allies or non-enemies.

Sigh.

Look, I'm perfectly willing and happy to admit that Israel has done some stupid things (anything involved with Lebanon, for example). I'm fine with a lot of people being wary of, or downright angry at AIPAC. The leadership of Israel frequently makes me consider drinking heavily. And certainly there is a firm percentage of the Jewish-American and Israeli population that is a lot more militant than most everyone is comfortable with.

But I have to say that I grow weary of the strong implication that all Jews are neoconservatives. Or that all Israelis are expansionist. Or that all Jews are against a two-state solution.

So let's just state it for the record, here: Plenty of Jews are totally appalled by the neoconservative agenda. Plenty despise Bush's "I Love Likud!" Middle East policy. Many many many want to see a free Palestine (even if for some it's so that everyone will shut up already about the Palestinians). Plenty don't want Israel to lob nukes anywhere, including Iran. (All this despite the fact that a Palestine would put millions of people who actively hate Jews right next door, I might add.)

So just remember when you read Juan Cole, or any of the other folks who tend to get pretty down on Israel (and Jews in general--from the political perspective, in any case): plenty of Jews are durn liberal. There are millions of Jews who are. And while everyone likes to talk about the neocon Jews, the vast majority of Jews aren't neocons.

Including this one.

that a sitting US president would choose to attack Iran, even a republican president.

Iran is much more useful to the GOP and even the dems right now as a political distraction and scapegoat. Imagine what would happen if we attacked Iran and bombed them into the ground. Who would we blame for our problems in Iraq then? Who would we blame for our energy problems?

We might be forced to focus on real, long term issues, such as social security and medicare, the energy crisis and global warming, our overcrowded prisons, our trade imbalance, the weakening dollar, healthcare and diseases such as diabetes, cancer, and obesity. Oh, and our immigration issue.

That would be bad, bad, bad. The last thing we want to do is talk about real issues.

So you see, we need Iran, desperately. It enables us to continue to hold on to the fantasy that all our problems can be solved -- through bombs.