The domino effect has just started.

It just keeps getting better.

Who says war never settles anything?

Isn't it amazing what losing your temper and kicking the shit out of the local bully does to improve the manners of the rest of the wannabe bullies on the block?

... and by the way - Suddenly, North Korea is making noises about just maybe talking about their nuke program in a multilateral setting.

Gee.

Isn't that amazing? Who'd a thunk?

"concerned about U.S. intentions" huh. Well, those were stated back in the Fall of 2001. If you harbor terrorists then you are on our "hit list".

Sounds like Iran is trying to push NK out of third spot on the Axis.

Our success in Iraq has redoubled our diplomatic power and convinced those at the top of our sh*t list that, they too, best shape up or perhaps Saddam's fate awaits them.

..SOUNDS LIKE MAKING A DEAL WITH THE DEVIL

Iran ought to be concerned.The main Country they have pissed off for years is now neighbors on both sides..

I was on the ocean when they took the hostages.

Sucks to be a Mullah in Iran right now, huh?

"the wannabe bullies on the block"

Not really an educated stastement about Iran. Iran has had plenty of opportunity to be bullies in Afghanistan, the Caucusus and make problems Iraq.

They have made noise but actually been pretty responsible.

That's what Khatami says. Tomorrow, let's hear what the Mullahs say.

Not really an educated stastement about Iran. Iran has had plenty of opportunity to be bullies in Afghanistan, the Caucusus and make problems Iraq.

I think they have not behaved that bad latetly, that we know, but their not bullies?

Represive religious police : Check
Threat of obtaining WMD[nuke]: Check
Theocracy : Check
State support of terrorism : Check
Axis of evil membership : Check

This is remarkably sensible by Iran.

Iran is soon going to have nukes, because that is the only way that a non-aligned country can maintain it's independence from the US.

This is going to raise the stakes in the US-Iran relationship considerably.

Exchanging ambassadors is therefore the only sensible thing to do.

Ian Whitchurch

Heh. Nice red herring, buddies. Put yourselves to a vote first, the rest will take care of itself.

Ian,

Another way a country could maintain its "independence" from the US would be to stop supporting terrorism. A much less costly proposition.

F Rafsangani. Too little too late. Nothing worst than a Mulha friend

This is great news. Iran is the most democratic Muslim country in the middle east. With diplomacy, pressure and patience - and a permanent U.S. military base near Basra - it might be possible to encourage it to become more democratic.

There is a real power struggle going on in Iran between reformists and extremists. I'm not sure it really belongs in the "Axis of Evil", which I think is a pretty dumb idea anyway.

What axis? These countries aren't allied.

Excellent, Smithers!

If I were Bush I would open up a way for all the "Axis-of-Evil" members to reprise their membership. If they want to be removed, they must show the U.S. that they're not involved in any terrorist organizations or have any WMD. If that means sending a copy of their financial books, so be it. Also, the U.S. should send in it's own inspectors to see if they have anything hidden in the country. If a certain list of conditions are met, they should be able to be removed from the list.

I think potentially a few countries, such as Syria, Iran & North Korea, could be removed from the list if they remove their WMD and help fight terrorism.

Just goes to show you the "good"/"peace" that can come out of war.

"Iran is the most democratic Muslim country in the middle east."

What the hell are you talking about?
There is absolutely NO democracy in Iran.
Just elections which mean NOTHING because the mullahs retain all the power for themselves.

Luckily, just as in Iraq, the people are sick and tired of the government.

I predict that the Iraninan regime will fall within 6 months, and there will be mullahs hanging from the lamposts.

I agree J. You have to be either an idiot to call Iran a democracy or a relative of Carter. Get a clue. Iran is a dictatorship claiming democracy to fool the west. Only BBC will fall form that shit

peopel on this page who call Iran a democracy have their head up their A.... Time totake it out and wipe your face so that you can see better

peopel on this page who call Iran a democracy have their head up their A.... Time to take it out and wipe your face so that you can see better

peopel on this page who call Iran a democracy have their head up their A.... Time to take it out and wipe your face so that you can see better

I didn't say it was a democracy. I said it was the most democratic Muslim democracy in the middle east, which it is. Name another Muslim country in the region that's more democratic. You can't, because all America's allies are less democratic. America has long supported dictators and corrupt monarchies in the Middle East.

Iran has elections. It has a parliament that passes laws. The Mullahs retain ultimate control over national security and other things, but the people have been able to elect a reformer as president - twice. He's in a power struggle with the Mullahs.

No one knows how that power struggle will end, but the Iraq war might just tilt in favour of the reformers. Rafsanjani is very powerful, and if he's indicating he wants a deal with the U.S., that means thing might be changing.

I can't believe I'm even bothering to answer your stupid, ignorant posts.

I'm with skeptical Steve on this one. He's absolutely right.

As for some others...if you're unable to form a complete sentence (ahem, Kim), your geopolitical analysis really is quite suspect.