Out: Axis of Evil, In: Axis of Who-Are-We-To-Judge

Hypothetic scenario:

You're the leader of the freest and most powerful country on Earth. On the other side of the globe, an ideologically medieval terrorist state gradually leaks its evil into the surrounding geographic region, corroding liberty and morality in every country that it infiltrates. Before long, this state of affairs culminates in a horrifying attack on your own soil.

Here are your options:


(a) Invade two of the terrorist state's neighbours (also run by evil people but not the root of the problem)

(b) Shrug your shoulders and acknowledge that your country had it coming

(c) Extend your hand in friendship to your completely unrepentant enemies (after all, we're hardly perfect ourselves so who are we to judge?)


If you chose option (c), you might just be a perennially confused Democratic president with no common sense and a wholly relativistic moral compass.

And the Iranian government's response to President Obama's kind offer to begins talks with Iran?

"This request means Western ideology has become passive, that capitalist thought and the system of domination have failed," Gholam Hossein Elham was quoted as saying by the Mehr news agency."(*)

Shocking.

Goodbye 'axis of evil'.

Hello 'axis of who-are-we-to-judge'.

H/t Mark Steyn

Fun Times With Mahmoud Ahmadinejad: Israel Is A "Filthy Bacteria"

I, for one, am deeply comforted that he doesn't hate Jews because a casual observer may be inclined to note his consistent anti-Jew rhetoric and conclude that he is, in fact, decidedly anti-Semitic in the majority of his actions and words. Especially considering his position at the head of the government of an Islamic dictatorship making strides towards nuclear technology, a casual observer couldn't be blamed for thinking Iran poses a very legitimate threat to the Jewish state and by extension its allies. Of course, we know better because he says he's not anti-Semitic

Story from The Jerusalem Post:

In yet another verbal attack against Israel, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad called the Jewish state a "filthy bacteria" whose sole purpose was to oppress the other nations of the region.

"The world powers established this filthy bacteria, the Zionist regime, which is lashing out at the nations in the region like a wild beast," the Iranian president told supporters at a rally in southern Iran.

"[Israel] won support [from the other nations] which created it as a scarecrow, so as to keep the people of this area under control," Ahmadinejad said.

Referring to the assassination of Hizbullah terror chief Imad Mughniyeh, the Iranian leader said that Israel "uses terror as a threat every day, and afterwards is happy and joyful."

Emphasis mine.

You know, I bet "filthy bacteria" is a term of endearment, kind of like how the rappers call each other "dogs." On the face of it, it sounds pretty insulting but when considered in its cultural context it isn't so bad.

You see? Rationalizing ourselves out of danger is our best foreign policy option in today's turbulent international community. Self-delusion is much safer than actually confronting our potential problems.

Iran: In A Balanced Criminal Justice System, The Appropriate Punishment For Rape Is ...

... Getting thrown off a cliff.

Tehran, 10 Jan. (AKI) - Iran's supreme court has confirmed that two youths, found guilty of rape will receive 100 lashes each before being cast off a cliff - an ancient Islamic punishment - local media reported. The reports named the youths as Tayeb and Yazdan.

"This is a chilling sentence," said Iranian human rights activist and lawyer Mohammad Ali Dadkhah.

"Iranian jurisprudence allows alternative punishments to those prescribed by Islamic law, but many judges ignore them, " Dadhkhah said.

Iranian magistrates in recent weeks sentenced several people to punishments that had been in abeyance, he said. As recently as last week in Iranian Balochistan, five minority Sunnis had their hands and feet amputated, he noted.

All five Sunnis were found guilty of the crime of 'moharebeh' or enmity towards Allah. The highly vague definition of 'enemy of God' ranges from homosexuals and drug traffickers to supporters or members of armed groups opposed to the regime.

Iran in the past two days hanged seven people for drug trafficking. In 2007, it executed at least 297 people, according to campaign group Amnesty International.

Emphasis mine.

Mr. Ahmadinejad claims that there are no homosexuals in Iran. There wouldn't be any in North America either if we threw them off cliffs for offending God. There is absolutely nothing redeeming about the Islamic Republic of Iran under Ahmadinejad.