I highlighted this yesterday in the "Updates" section of my piece re: Eric Raymond's series on the War Against Islamists, but it bears mentioning again... Cold Fury has a very interesting post that suggests preparations for a war on Iraq could be more advanced than previously thought. I hope so.

Meanwhile, Michael Leeden continues to talk about developments inside Iran, almost alone, to the eternal shame of our media. Two bombs found last week in downtown Tehran, major demonstrations scheduled for July 9 (today!), airplanes parked for what looks like a quick getaway at part of Mehrabad Airport in Tehran, calls for lifting the arrests of prominent Islamic clerics... this is looking explosive. He writes:

"The whole region is... a vast tinderbox waiting for a spark to set it aflame. We hold matches galore: radio and television stations, bully pulpits all over Washington, plenty of high-tech communications toys that the Iranian opposition could use with devastating effect, and money for the overwhelming majority of hard-working Iranians who today cannot subsist on their salaries."

And we have used them all utterly ineptly, in the rare cases when we've used them at all.

"Is there really no one in a position of authority who understands the importance of our political and moral voice at this potential turning point in Middle East history?"

No-one, it seems. Surely not the EU or the State Department, who would rather appease the regime instead and lend it legitimacy. What a disgrace.

Between Iran and Iraq, it is Iran that has by far the more advanced weapons of mass destruction programs. It is Iran that has the more advanced missiles to deliver them. It is one of the most powerful men in Iran who said nuclear retaliation that killed most Iranians would be acceptable if Israel was destroyed by a nuclear first strike.

Ponder that one for a minute. I'll wait.

It is Iran who is by far the more important supporter of terrorism, as the main backer of Hamas, Hizbollah, and Islamic Jihad. It is Iran who is attempting to undermine the Afghan government. And it is Iran who remains the original poster child for Islamists and jihadis around the world, as the most prominent and durable Islamic state.

The shock of Saddam's fall would be seismic, a clear demonstration of American will that would change political calculations in the Arab world. As many middle easterners have told us themselves. The fall of Iran's mullahs at the hands of the Iranian people would send even greater shockwaves, however, of a different kind. Shockwaves of the utter failure of political Islamism as a corrupt ideology, whose fall was widely celebrated by its subjects. Al-Jazeera would be covering it, and the Iranians remain the best film makers in the Mideast. If we're serious about the culture war with Islamists, this is a decisive battle.

Why the hell aren't we fighting it, publicly, alongside the Iranian people? Damned if I know.

UPDATES: I talk about a "culture war," but I really mean "meme war." Thought that might be too esoteric, but N.Z. Bear has a fantastic post making that term - and many aspects of this war - crystal clear. Polyphrogenitus follows up with an acknowledgement of N.Z. Bear's points, while explaining the barriers to success and why military power is still a critical tool.