We are tempted to seek comfort in the words of Yogi Berra in confronting the Boston Globe's reiteration of the apparent New York Times Company party line first published in the flagship rag to the south: the Iranian President's threat to destroy Israel is just domestic politicking.

In the past, Iranian factions have often provoked international crises to advance domestic political agendas.... By pressing a dogmatic position on Israel, Ahmadinejad may perceive an opportunity to rekindle the long—extinguished revolutionary fires and reclaim Iran's leadership of radical Islam.

Political analysts and diplomats said the same thing about Hitler's expressed desire to eradicate Jews. Evidently, the New York Times Company's two largest papers have not yet learned the lessons of history.

Ed Lasky  12 23 05