HTC:

Thanks for a most interesting article. Assad Homayoun is an interesting feller, a man who was succeeding under the Pahlavi regime and would therefore like nothing more than to resurrect a similarly secular regime that took pride in its Persian legacy. Who can blame him for that?

I understand that those who do not approve of the war may seem to you to be supporting the evil of fanatacism, but from my point of view our fanatacism has rushed us into a war chosen at the wrong time, fought in the wrong place, and started for unclear and in some ways misguided reasons. Above all, my objection is to the violence that the decision to go to war has suddenly brought down on innocent heads, especially those crippled and killed and ruined by calamity directly caused by war fighting. What we support is not the extremes of Msulim fanatacism -- who do you think we are? -- but the ineluctable advanced of reason and communication among reasoning people as the ultimate power of any social deal.

As for Bush's position about Iran, it is tricky, but I think his best bet is to inspire the community of nations to send Iran to Coventry if she acts anti-social.

A