I truly don't believe Hitler had suicidal yearnings when he began his quest. I'm sure he envisioned himself atop a throne controlling a good chunk of the world protected from his own demise.

As for Iran having the right to nukes, I'm not sure anyone truly has that right including the super powers. The possession of them by most countries with any wealth and technology at all is nearly inevitable in my mind. You may be able to slow some down but if they truly seek them and they have the means to pay for it, they're going to get their hands on them. What nobody has the right to do is explode one preemptively so let the man bluster all he wants. If he makes moves to use one or carries it out, his country is toast. What a horrible policy and scenario but darn if it hasn't worked.

Look, I sympathise with Israel. I just don't give them any more consideration than any other country just because many of the people that live there have had an unfair heritage or that Jesus was supposedly born there. At some point in time, countries have to stand on their own. I understand the fear that they live with being in the snake pit of the Mideast in a tiny country that would be devastated by a single nuclear blow but it's a reality that doesn't go away with the diplomatic and military strategy we or the Israelis employ today.

I would guess that screaming about destroying Israel to the Islamic extremists in his country is to the Islamic leader on a par with George Bush catering to the radical Christian right by getting on board the Terry Schiavo controversy. I doubt GWB cared one ounce about Terry Schiavo. He just used the issue to try to engage his base. (by the way, before someone pounces on me about equating destroying Israel with letting Terry die, that's not my message. It's that leaders insecure about their futures will sometimes do and say reprehensible things if they can come away with a political advantage). Bottom line is though that nobody really knows the intentions of this idiot. We can make wild guesses on both sides of the spectrum but he probably doesn't even know what he'd do with a nuke ready to go. To base military action on a hunch is a dangerous game.

Art