The Big Pharaoh, a blogger in Cairo whose writing I enjoy, makes a provocative and possibly very useful suggestion for confronting the mullahs of Iran. He notes that they are infiltrating Iraq and sponsoring terror, as well as putting in place an apparatus to control southern Iraq. Not to mention the nukes. What cards, he asks, do the US and UK have to play?

He answers that we should play hardball — eye for an eye territory. If Iran wants to sponsor unrest in Iraq, we can send arms and other wise support Kurds and Arabs within Iran. The norm of reciprocity is the bedrock of real world diplomacy. Screw with my interests, and I will screw with yours.

I have long thought that the United States is insufficiently ruthless with its power in the Middle East. This sounds like a real option to seriously explore.

Thomas Lifson  8 23 05