Death to Israel

Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadi-Nejad, possibly a former 1979 American Embassy hostage-taker, called for the destruction of Israel. To use his words: Israel should be “wiped off the map.”

The call for Israel’s elimination was, it goes without saying, incendiary, words unbefitting a leader of a sovereign nation. It was just short of a declaration of war on the state of Israel.

His remarks can not be dismissed as mere rhetoric. Iran has been illegally pursuing a nuclear weapons program for years.

These weapons would lend themselves quite well to achieving his stated goal of eliminating the only stable democracy in the Middle East.

The world responds to his remarks:

· Roundup: International condemnation for Iranian comments on Israel

· Canada blasts Iran for seeking Israeli destruction

· Russia condemns Iran's 'wiped off map' comment on Israel (Yet, “Russia still supports Iran's civilian nuclear programme despite Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's call for Israel to be 'wiped off the map,' Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said today.”)

· World Expresses Dismay Over Iran Remarks

Israel wants nothing less than the United Nations to expel the rogue nation from that august body:

'A state which calls for the extermination of another people cannot be a member of the United Nations,' Sharon said in a statement.

'A state which is in possession of nuclear arms is a danger not only to Israel and the Middle East but also to Europe,' Sharon added in a statement after meeting Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

The President of Iran also predicted, during his remarks before 3,000 students at the “A World Without Zionism” conference, a wave of violence to begin soon in Israel:

“[N]o doubt the new wave [of attacks] in Palestine will soon wipe off this disgraceful blot from the face of the Islamic world”.

Just hours later a suicide bomber killed five Israeli’s in the marketplace.

Israel wasted no time in responding to the attack:

The Israeli army launched an offensive against Islamic Jihad militants Thursday, carrying out a series of airstrikes in what Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said would be a "broad and nonstop" response to a suicide bombing that killed five Israelis.

Will Israel expand its war against terrorism beyond their immediate geographical area? Perhaps a strike at Iran’s “civilian” nuclear facilities might be a good start.