Iran and Russia and Germany and Japan

I was going to write about Russian's Vladimir Putin and his apparent relationship with Iran's President Ahmadinejad, and the rest of Iran's leadership. But, someone beat me to it. "Vladimir's convenient relationship" (October 19, 2007) has commentary, quotes, and links on this subject.

As usual, in situations like this, I have the usual disclaimer about opinions on other blogs or websites not necessarily being my own, and my having no control over their content.

However, I think that American Interests is a very good place to get an intelligent alternative to the standard-issue views endemic to places like Berkeley, Amherst, and Boulder.

Finally, Why Germany and Japan in the title?

I don't think that the war on terror is a replay of WWII, but there are interesting parallels here and there.

One is the peculiar relationship of Germany and Japan (an alliance of a nation dedicated to the superiority of their leadership's notion of the "Aryan Race" and a nation which is very sincerely not "Aryan" by anyone's standards).

Russia and Iran show signs of becoming an similar Odd Couple. Time will tell.

Related posts, on Individuals and the War on Terror.