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the G-man said:
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Simon Jenkins said:Iran is the regional superstate. If ever there were a realpolitik demanding to be "hugged close" it is this one, however distasteful its leader and his centrifuges. If you cannot stop a man buying a gun, the next best bet is to make him your friend, not your enemy.



At some point, however, you have to recognize that certain people, no matter how hard you hug them, are never going to be your friend.

In the case at hand, we are dealing with the leader of a group that takes violent offense at ...cartoons. Do you really think he can be "hugged" into listening to reason?



We've hugged many countries to our bossom that were far more abhorrant than Islamic Iran. The Shah's Iran for example. The previous president made many overtures to the US to improve relations. We rebuffed them all. Iran is a player, we need to recognize that. We're still pissed off for the hostage crises 25 years ago and Iran's success at keeping us at bay.

Do you know why there was a hostage crises in the first place?