Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, shown at a 2007 gathering of Basij militia forces with Revolutionary Guard commanders in Tehran, is regarded in Iran as the highest-ranking cleric in Shiite Islam. In a speech, he warned opposition leaders and the West. His address was the latest attempt to divide a movement that continues despite months of arrests and violent reprisals. (Associated Press)Engaging With Iran Is Like Having Sex With Someone Who Hates You -- Christopher Hitchens, Slate
Tehran's latest bid to run down the clock.
"Living in the Islamic Republic," wrote Azar Nafisi in her book Reading Lolita in Tehran in 2003, "is like having sex with a man you loathe." This verdict has gathered extra force and pungency as the succeeding years have elapsed and as more women have been stoned, hanged, beaten, raped, and silenced. Lately has come the news that Iranian men in prison are being raped, too, for trying to exercise their right to vote. And now the U.S. government has come to a point where it must ask itself: What is it like to enter negotiations with a man who loathes you and who every Friday holds public prayers that call for your death?
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OPINIONS, COMMENTARIES, AND EDITORIALS
Iran's Imperial Presidency -- Jamsheed Choksy, Foreign Policy
Iran Ready to Talk Nukes? -- Michael Adler, Daily Beast
Afghanistan Troop Request May Contain Political Fail-Safe -- Spencer Ackerman, Washington Independent.
In the Afghan battle space -- Oliver North, Washington Times
Can Obama Inspire on Afghanistan? -- Abe Greenwald, American Spectator
A Way to Get Out of Afghanistan -- Brahma Chellaney, Japan Times
Obama Is Pushing Israel Toward War -- Bret Stephens, Wall Street Journal opinion.
Squandering the Moment in the Middle East -- New York Times editorial.
Tearing Yemen Apart -- Simon Tisdall, The Guardian opinion.
Osama bin Has-Been -- Ralph Peters, New York Post
Osama bin Laden’s tired ravings go on. But who is listening? -- Michael Binyon, Times Online
Russians Want Democracy -- Vladimir Kara-Murza Jr., Wall Street Journal
Ill Trade Winds with Beijing -- Robert McMahon, Council on Foreign Relations
China makes gains in its bid to be top dog -- Gideon Rachman, Financial Times
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