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Originally Posted by dennisw
I believe the appearance of the Iranians being open to negotiation is an allusion, a carefully crafted one at that.
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Without a doubt it is. The Iranians are proceeding with a multifaceted (military, political, diplomatic, cultural) strategy to expand their power until they become the regional leader and, by extension, a world power. This is similar, but not the same as Al Qaeda's goal to reestablish the Caliphate followed by neverending jihad. The key difference is Iran is trying to expand its power within the existing world system and through generally traditional methods. Al Qaeda is trying to flip the switch on the whole system using revolutionary methods (to include nuclear terrorism). Thats why, in my mind, Al Qaeda requires a more rapid, harsher approach, while Iran can be contained (and rolled back) through traditional statecraft.
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The threshold question is still: Are we at war with islam?
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Jihadist Islam, yes. General Islam, no.