A Friend in Need

Guess who agrees with John McCain and George W. Bush about the need to take a paranoid attitude toward Iran? That's right, it's Osama bin Laden in a new taped message:

Bin Laden singled out by name Hassan Nasrallah, leader of Hezbollah, whose 2006 war against Israel boosted the group's popularity among Shiites and Sunnis. Bin Laden said Nasrallah claimed he had enough resources, such as money and combatants, to fight Israel. "But the truth is the opposite," he said. "If he was honest and has enough (resources), why then he did not support the fight to liberate Palestine." He also attacked Nasrallah for allowing the deployment of U.N. peacekeepers in southern Lebanon "to protect the Jews." Sunni al-Qaida has also stepped up its criticism of Shiite Iran, the main backer of Hezbollah, accusing it of trying to dominate the Middle East.

Again, the reasonable course for the United States is to attempt a rapprochement with Iran in order for us to deal with our common enemy, al-Qaeda. Alternatively, we can prattle on about "Islamofascism" in a desperate effort to find new allies for al-Qaeda while alienating potential friends.