Letters to the Editor
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What do you mean there's no Islamic Bomb?
Pakistan, that model of stability has quite a few. Of course if were Iran, what with high inflation, a need to import 80% of their refined oil products, 10%+ illiteracy, and surrounded by the following nuclear armed states: Russia, China, Pakistan and India, I would weigh carefully the advantages of deflecting internal dissatisfaction away to "Those Evil Joooz" (or any other foreigner for if nothing else Iranians are a proud, nationalistic and vaguely xenophobic group) against the downside of threatening to start an atomic war in the region, what with all those other countries who already have them.
See contrary to Salon's rabid antisemitic ignorance, it really is a very tough neighborhood all around. For example, when the IRGC says "We can absorb 80 nuclear strikes and survive" they should consider that India, China and Russia actually could and it's not rhetoric. On the other hand if you're going to play brinksmanship games with super powers you'd better be prepared to go all in. Maybe that will work for them.