Who Will Lead?

So, I came across this cover of Time Magazine and I noticed something up in the top right corner of the front cover. Yes, indeed, "new pressure on Iran." Where did that get us? That was almost 30 years ago, today, we face the same problems with the mullahcratic regime in Tehran. Practically every day I read about Iran's growing influence in Iraq; arming the Shiite insurgency and pressuring Shia leaders to double talk the U.S.

One of the unintended consequences of the Iraq war has been this Shia revitalization, which had been dormant, probably since the Ayatollah Khomeini's death in 1989. Really, Saddam Hussein was able to stifle the Shiites as a result of the eight-year Iran-Iraq war and his own brutal tactics with Iraq against the Shia majority. Just for the record, I am not one of those in America who miss Saddam. Such idiocy, a man who was behind at least 250,000 men, women, and children being slaughtered and palced in mass graves. Iran, however, has a certifiable loony at the helm today, and we are left scrambling trying to find a practical solution. First things first, invading Iran is not the answer. Hezbollah has cells here and has for quite a long time; we don't need to rattle that hornet's nest, because quite frankly we are not in a position of strength.

Has anyone sat back and thought about the fact that the United States and her allies defeated Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy, and Imperial Japan in four years! Once this country got serious about entering World War II, after the war had been going on for two years, we decimated this triumvirate of evil forces. Yet, here we sit on the eve of the sixth anniversary of 9/11 and we have no long-term stability in Afghanistan, and Iraq is a series of three steps forward and six steps back. Does anyone recognize the seriousness of this equation? Do any of our elected officials really lay it out on the line for the citizens of this great country. Or are we just more content to crawl back into our cocoons and worry about spoiled athletes and ditsy Hollywood chicks?

Foreign Affairs Magazine recently suggested detente with the Iranian regime. I'm actually all for our elected leaders meeting with their constituents in countries that are not exactly our bosom buddies. However, we have to examine the reality of this crisis. Religious fanaticism is a very difficult thing to combat, and I don't believe anyone should gloss over the rantings of a leader such as Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. When the leader of a country says that he wants to "wipe Israel off the map" we should all pay attention.

Many people complain that their rights have been infringed upon since September 11, 2001. But what would be the consequences of a U.S. city being wiped out by a terrorist organization using a dirty bomb? Does anyone think it would be business as usual? Things would change drastically overnight; our civil liberties would have to be forfeited to some degree, perhaps severely.

My whole point is that the U.S. has to unite, that's one of the reasons why this War On Terror has gone on for so long: a lack of unity from the top down. This country needs to be united by a great leader. I'm just wondering where and who that great leader is, and does he or she even exist?