If there's one thing Republicans hate, it's not having a mortal enemy to demonize, to scare their constituents, and to fatten the wallets of their buddies in the defense contract industry. It's also to separate the men from the boys (in their small minds anyway), even though very few of them would be willing to actually go mano-a-mano with anyone. The Middle East is always low-hanging fruit for them, because it's easy enough to stereotype and convince their simple-minded sycophants that everyone in the region is dangerous.

Well - except for Israel, of course. Israel is the Promised Land full of noble men who only want to protect the Land of Jesus and Abraham from those heathen Muslims (who also happen to believe in the same God, but that's another story).

They also hate President Obama, so what better way to poke a stick in his eye, show support for Israel, and demonize another country in the region than to invite Benjamin Netanyahu to speak to Congress? Unfortunately for them, they appear to have stepped in it.

The speech by Netanyahu was a blatant campaign stop for his upcoming election, and it was painfully obvious. It certainly didn't win him any fans here in the U.S.. It also showed Congress as overstepping their bounds by interfering with State Department business. They doubled-down, by writing an open letter to the Iranian government, telling them in the most condescending fashion (and incorrectly) that engaging in a deal with President Obama was no guarantee of future commitment on our part.

In response, Iranian Foreign Minister Dr. Javad Zarif schooled the Republicans on everything from how the U.S. government really works, to why their threats were empty. It's a shame this hasn't gotten more coverage in the news, because it's a perfect example of why Republicans suck so badly at foreign policy - they are stupid without knowing, and assume (incorrectly) foreign dignitaries are dumber than they are.

Not only that, but the Republicans who signed the open letter, may have broken the law:

Because Democrats are loathe to actually do more than say "tsk tsk - shame shame" to them, it's extremely doubtful any prosecutions will develop (meanwhile, Republicans call for special Congressional investigations every time a Democrat sneezes without saying "excuse me").

Even worse (yes, it's possible), the Senator responsible for penning this "failed-10th-grade-civics" open letter is Tom Cotton (R-AR), a freshman Senator with two - count 'em - two months experience on the job. Immediately after penning what could be described as a call to war, he met with defense contractors in a closed-door session. Nothing like a little tit-for-tat. Perhaps it's time to take a closer look at the campaign donations report for Senator Cotton.

It's a big shame because - despite the Israeli leadership's hatred for Iran, the people of that country are actually quite fond of the United States. The most popular country for Iranians to emmigrate to is the United States. Scratch beneath the surface, and you will find the former Persia is a fairly modern place, full of intelligent people welcoming strangers into their homes:



But - like Israel, the United States Congress, and countless other countries, it is often the leadership that creates conflict, paints others with simple dark colors, and stirs up resentment to others. Iran doesn't have a lot of choice, since they have Imams who make a lot of the decisions. In the U.S., voting districts have been so gerrymandered, choice is often limited to the least offensive of the worst - and even that doesn't always work.

I don't see a change any time soon, until voters start casting ballots with their heads and their hopes, instead of their feelings and their fears.