It shouldn't shock anyone to hear a Republican politician prey on Americans' ignorance of geography and current events to invent stories on the Iran/Al Qaida link. American's in the past, pre-2003, believed that its' leaders lived by a higher standing embodying honor, integrity, and trustworthiness...or they just wanted to believe that their government was still acting in their interests. Americans want to believe that there is some semblance of what the founding fathers intended to create, namely, a republic where the government ruled with the consent of the governed...not a British empire.

But, what we have seen is the Republican party's fictional justification for going to war in the oil-rich Middle East. Attacking Iraq, number one in unproven oil reserves in the Middle East, with the story that they supported and trained Al-Qaida. This occurred despite the CIA's assertion of the existence of the Shia/Sunni divide, and the State Department's agreement with the CIA's reporting shows that the administration wanted a war with Iraq and was willing to find any type of justification to lie to Americans to achieve their objective...control of Middle East oil. The administration knew that once the troop were committed in Iraq, that the justification wouldn't matter. This case remains reminiscent of the Gulf of Tonkin, and its ramifications resulting in the conflict in Vietnam.

Should Americans begin to believe that John McCain would stray from his party's stance concerning Iran? Hawks continue to charge that Iran must never attain a nuclear weapons capability. And the denial of these weapons is the most critical threat to US security, despite the recent National Intelligence Estimate stating that Iran ended its nuclear weapons program following the US invasion and toppling of their greatest threat, Saddam Hussein.

There are many approaches that the administration could use in providing a peaceful resolution to conflict with Iran. Iran has cooperated with the United States in capturing Taliban and Al-Qaida fighters in Afghanistan. Iran also views Sunni extremists as a threat to their security. Yet, Iran's reward for cooperation with the United States was being labeled part of an "axis of evil". This shut the door to cooperation and reopened the door to hostility.

The United States can restore relations with Iran..if that's its goal. Keep in mind that prior to the US invasion of Iraq, Saddam agreed to allow inspectors into his country, but the war machine was already in motion, and had been since Bush's inauguration in 2000. Peace was never an option. Is the United States' solely exploring military action in regards to Iran? If history is any indicator, Iran's only option is nuclear weapons.

McCain's an idiot, certainly, and heaven forbid he become preznit...but I don't think stuff like this is actually that big a deal coming from him.

My take on it is that McCain's just not a real good speaker, and because he's always trying to sound better than he knows how to, he says the STUPIDEST STUFF all the time.

In this case specifically, he's just using "al Qaida" as "Charlie"--they're the bad guys who our military has to destroy. If there are Shi'ite extremists coming from Iran, they're "al Qaida" as a matter of jargon/shorthand in McCain's mind.

That represents a serious problem with McCain's vision about how to confront political issues in the mid-East, but I don't believe it means he is unaware that there are different factions attacking us in Iraq and Afghanistan.

In this case, the "every side lies," is a bit of a false equivalency. WRT Iraq, the people that wanted a war lied, judiciously and without reservation, from any and all media outlets. There simply is nothing comparable for the "other side," whomever that might be.

This is, from a foreign policy standpoint, the actual damage done: who would believe anything our government says that can be construed as justifying military action against anyone?

I work with several young engineers from Iran who were educated both overseas as well as here in the U.S. I asked these people about the proposed threat that their country represents to us here in the U.S. Here are their compiled responses:

1) Iran is probably the most "westernized" middle-eastern country next to Dubai and Saudi Arabia.

2) The hardliners who are currently in power are scared. The fright comes not from the U.S., but from the younger generation in Iran. Those currently in power realize that the youth in Iran are westernized and not as fundamently religious as they are. They are afraid that their rules based upon religious dogma will be rewritten with a more "western" slant when this younger generation takes power. (McDonald's food kills people. Why can't it kill a country too?)

3) Iran and Iraq have been enemies, to some degree, for about 2000 years. To suggest that Iran would allow an Iraqis to train there is absurd. (The U.S. and Mexico have been neighbors for over 200 years, yet look at the immigration issue)

4) The Iranian people have a strong sense of national pride. If you invade Iran, no matter the reason, even people who do not agree with the current Iranian leaders (re: the younger generations) will rise-up to throw out the invaders. Much like we would do here in the U.S.

They have to make this implausible link between Al Qaeda and Iran because the underlying problem for Republicans is that the war in Iraq has given the biggest benefit to Iran. Instead of having a nationalist, Sunni controlled neighbor that is hostile, a democratically elected Shiite dominated government in Iraq makes life alot easier for Iran.

McCain's showing his lack of knowledge of the intricacies of middle east politics is indeed a warning signal that he thinks in the simplistic terms of the man he hopes to succeed. Such a simplistic Manichaean world view what got us in this mess. Another four years of it would not likely improve things.

is no laughing matter. I posted a few weeks ago that my biggest fear is that the media will ignore or obfuscate the fact that McCain is in the early stages of a dementia that is progressing fairly quickly. Compare his current mental alertness to that of just 6 months ago. It is quite disturbing !

Hopefully, he will not be elected, but if he is,let us hope that he made a wise choice for VP...