For Aggregate Stupidity, I Think Bush Has Finally Been Outperformed By The President Of Iran

First, don't get me wrong. I think war with Iran would be a mistake that would make war with Iraq look like a trivial error in comparison. I know about the history of the U.S. and Iran, the 1953 CIA-sponsored coup, the 25-year imposition of the nasty American-backed dictatorship of the Shah, the subsequent "blowback," and so on. I am not ignorant or naive about any of this in the least. Containment -- like we didn't do with Saddam Hussein -- would be the rational response to any future conflict with Iran.

But it's time to say this: The current leader of Iran is either appallingly disingenuous, or a moron. I didn't think it possible that anyone could make Bush look even halfway shrewd in comparison. This cretin does.

He knowingly walked into a Western intellectual ambush at Columbia University on Monday. I won't even get into the issues about his imbecilic questioning of the Holocaust.

This guy actually said, among other things, and with a straight face, that there are no homosexuals in Iran. I understand that the response was derisive laughter.

I can't imagine that he didn't know what to expect. Here's what The New York Times reported:

He said that there were no homosexuals in Iran — not one — and that the Nazi slaughter of six million Jews should not be treated as fact, but theory, and therefore open to debate and more research.

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the president of Iran, aired those and other bewildering thoughts in a two-hour verbal contest at Columbia University yesterday, providing some ammunition to people who said there was no point in inviting him to speak. Yet his appearance also offered evidence of why he is widely admired in the developing world for his defiance toward Western, especially American, power.

Well, most certainly the Bush presidency has seriously undermined any American claim to moral authority on the world stage. And when Ahmadinejad talks -- in many parts of the world, people listen.

But, to the bottom line: Even Il Doofus isn't this fucking stupid. At least not publicly. I can't think of any other world leader who could be. If I'm wrong, in terms of pure public ignorance, send me names.

The Associated Press reported:

He provoked derisive laughter by responding to a question about Iran's execution of homosexuals by saying: "In Iran we don't have homosexuals like in your country ... I don't know who's told you that we have this."

No, stupidity isn't grounds for a declaration of war. If this were so, we should declare war on ourselves, based on policy of the last several years. And, one thing to consider: If Jerry Falwell or Pat Robertson had been given the opportunity to have this much power here, would they have been much different?

But, this is a man here and now, with plenty of convoluted brown matter between his ears. And he has a lot of power. His ideas are silly, but a person in this position in the world can't really be dismissed with such a word. He is yet one more reason to be very, very afraid.