Twilight Zone

Despite praising much of what soon-to-be Secretary of Defense Robert Gates had to say in front of the Senate Armed Services Committee today, the boys over at Power Line are flummoxed by an exchange Gates had with Senator Lindsay Graham concerning Iran:

Graham: The president of Iran has publicly disavowed the existence of the Holocaust, has publicly stated that he would like to wipe Israel off the map. Do you think he's kidding?

Gates: No, I don't think he's kidding, but I think there are, in fact, higher powers in Iran than he, than the president. And I think that, while they are certainly pressing, in my opinion, for nuclear capability, I think that they would see it in the first instance as a deterrent.

Indeed. Who could possibly have the temerity to suggest that Iran might consider its own survival to be a more important goal than seeking holy martyrdom via the destruction of Israel? Doesn't that mushy liberal Gates understand that the threat of massive mililtary retaliation has no influnece on Iran's decisionmaking calculus? In fact, I bet the liberal mainstream media has already convinced him that a Pentagon has six sides instead of five...

Posted by Kingston