Richard Just in The Plank:
Of course there are people who want the United States to go to war with Iran, and who therefore had their own set of reasons for giving Ahmadinejad a rude reception this week. I am, emphatically, not one of those people. But does opposing war with Iran really require liberals to act politely towards an illiberal monster like Ahmadinejad--to overlook his repression of dissidents, his sponsorship of terrorism, his fanatical anti-semitism?
I'm sorry but the answer is to this rhetorical question is YES. There is a powerful faction of the United States Government that is intent on starting a war with Iran. If you don't want this war, and Just doesn't, you have to not spend your days saying how horrible Iran is. Because that will only build the case for war. I would love to spend my days denouncing Ahmadinejad. But to do so these days in to invite catastrophe. Denounce Burma. They deserve it too and they're in no danger of triggering a misguided war in the process.
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And here is where the conservatives get their biggest win. They're training us, like poodles with shock collars, to put away our basic sense of outrage at human rights' violations out of fear of the consequences. Standing by while something horrific occurs out of fear for one's own personal interests is nothing less than the basest form of cowardice.
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