Andrew Sullivan on Ahmadinejad:
We have a dictator on the brink of nukes, striving to accelerate the Apocalypse. Think of the Iranian regime as a nation-as-suicide-bomber. And anything serious we can do to prevent it may only make matters worse. No wonder Ahmadinejad smiles. Paradise beckons.
Does Sullivan really think Ahmadinejad is a dictator? Really?
dic·ta·tor
N.
1.
a. An absolute ruler.
b. A tyrant; a despot.
Sullivan is ready to apply those labels to the guy who holds the slot the impotent and ineffectual Khatami just vacated? The democratically elected executive who answers to the permanent Supreme Leader and fears the Revolutionary Guard? And if not, why is he so intent on pumping up perceptions of Ahmadinejad's autonomy and threat? For those seeking a bit of perspective, here's a perfectly good primer on the Iranian government.
