Everyone please remain in your seats...

I'm still stunned by the inflammatory statements made this week by Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, and the outburst of anti-Israeli venom that bared its face in Iranian streets Thursday. At a time when a significant percentage of world opinion seemed to favor a measured diplomatic approach to Tehran's nuclear plans (and a recognition of the nation's sovereign rights within the parameters of U.N. treaties), Ahmadinejad's behavior was unbelievably stupid, offensive, and untrustworthy.

It certainly has been condemned emphatically by the global community, including a rare rebuke by Secretary-General Kofi Annan, and immediate and harsh criticism from Palestinian officials. Ahmadinejad's defiant refusal to back down from his dangerous rhetoric is the act of a spoiled, petulant child - unfortunately one who has an army and a grudge and a desire for nuclear material.

This surprising Iranian belligerence is a clear sign of the immaturity of Ahmadinejad's diplomatic skill; the danger of his possible vision for the future of his nation; and the unreliability of Tehran's previous declarations of peace. The Iranian state has given us a glimpse of what may be the true ugliness at its core, and it must be monitored even more closely by relevant world organizations.

But here's the dilemma.

U.N. condemnation of Ahmadinejad's antics centers on the idea that

...under the United Nations Charter, all members have undertaken to refrain from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state.

It strikes me that those words come terrifyingly close to describing U.S. actions toward the "territorial integrity" of Iraq. And we didn't just deliver an incendiary speech at an isolated conference, and then participate in some staged public rallies that featured a bit of flag burning and a few hatefully worded posters. We delivered an incendiary military invasion that indiscriminately killed tens of thousands of Iraqi citizens, and then participated in a downwardly-spiraling occupation that has reduced the nation to a nightmare of terrorist bombings, darkness and rubble, and death.

So, tell me again - which nation has more egregiously violated that Charter, and contributed to the destabilization of a state's territorial integrity?

And while you ponder that question, remember that in spite of the fact that Ahmadinejad's outburst is foolishly confrontational, so too is Mr. Bush's response. Instead of answering Iran's immature and unsettling behavior with the type of wise and well-informed character we should expect from our President, the Frat Boy in Chief chose instead to shout schoolboy taunts across the quad, calling Iran an "outlaw regime" and issuing the veiled threat, "they deserve no patience from the victims of terror."

Now I'll grant you that those phrases are not as frighteningly direct as "wiped off the map" (I still can't get over what an idiotic, counter- productive thing that was to say), but somehow I'd hoped for more from our hard-workin' leader in the War on Terror. Something closer to Russia's reaction. Something that might convince us that our Head Cowboy can understand the distinction between "condemning a deplorable public statement", and "Y'all are outlaws, so git ready to draw!"

Something more befitting an Administration truly devoted to peace, and less closely resembling the one that fabricated similar reasons in a similar region for a similar march to war.

Remember also that we've yet to see any concrete proof supporting continued U.S. allegations that Iran wants to accelerate some "hidden" nuclear weapons program. The boys in Washington are 0 for 3 (concerning 9/11, Osama's capture, and WMD's) when it comes to guessing the intent of their enemies, so I think it should take more than "I told you so" as a rationale for painting yet another Middle Eastern regime into a corner, and preparing to send more of our kids to die.

I'll reiterate that I find the recent shifts in Iran's public appearance more than deserving of renewed Western suspicion, and increased U.N. supervision. But let's not let Mr. Ahmadinejad's outburst be overly hyped and used as an excuse for escalating the situation. It's important to all of us that calmer heads prevail - and that we not allow ourselves to be duped this time into believing that an unnecessary armed intervention is our only move.