A Blog by the Editor of The Middle East Journal

Putting Middle Eastern Events in Cultural and Historical Context

Monday, September 28, 2009

Iran: Not Exactly Subtle Diplomacy

Iran is not, shall we say, playing well with others. Even as the West has upped the ante a bit by revealing a new enrichment plant in Iran, Ahmadinejad has returned to his homeland to see the launch of a couple of short-range missiles and the announced intention of launching a long-range missile today, Monday.

Today is Yom Kippur.

Class act, Mahmud. You really like to stick it in everybody's eye, don't you? You know, I think Israel would be foolish to attack Iran unilaterally, and it would be a disaster for world peace, but by gosh, if you keep poking that tiger with a sharp stick, you might find out I'm not the guy who makes the decision. And Netanyahu is not me.

Now the pictures bother me not at all even if they're not photoshopped like an earlier Iranian picture. . It looks like short-range artillery rockets or perhaps early SAMs of the SA-2 or SA-3 class, though it could be something more potent. But launching a longer range missile on Yom Kippur will be a challenge to Israel, and you know, that might not be smart.

No comments: