UPDATE at 10:08 EST, Feb 11, 2010

Here we go -- from the NYT:

As security forces clashed with his opponents, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran was quoted on Thursday as saying his country had produced a first batch of uranium enriched to a level of 20 percent, taunting the West by declaring that if Tehran wanted to build a nuclear bomb, it would say so. Iran, he said, repeating an earlier assertion, was now “a nuclear state.”

This last week’s news has got me thinking about the particularities of the formulation of US foreign policy – and how it is important that our friends, allies, and even rivals understand why we do the things we do.

An extremely important part of understanding other countries’ foreign policies is to understand how their political systems work. You would be hard-pressed to grasp the comings and goings in Germany, Lebanon, and China if you didn’t understand German coalition politics, Lebanese confessionalism, and modern Chinese communism. By the same token, US allies and rivals, many of whom use simple majority parliamentary systems, can’t possibly understand American foreign policy unless they are proficient in our political system, namely the enormous influence that individual legislators, even in the minority party, exercise over foreign policy decisions.

The filibuster, seemingly the most ridiculous...

Today, against my better judgements, I clicked on a banner ad on Politico -- and boy howdy it lead to some interesting finds! A spashy, expensive, flash banner on Iran and Ras Al Khaimah (an Emirate of the UAE) drew my attention -- mostly due to its "feary-ness". The result was my discovery of this "blog".

Run on the behalf of "Sheikh" Khalid bin Saqr Al Qasimi for $900,000 USD by California Strategies (a lobbying firm), the webpage RAKforthepeople.com is a very interesting example of the hilarity that can ensue from the kind of royal family spats that only the Gulf Oil States can provide. The website (readable in english or arabic) is a swift-boatish hatchet job on the little Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah (RAK). The "research" on the site claims that RAK is a breeding ground for Al Qaeda, a proxy of Iran, and all around danger to freedom loving people everywhere. The site suggests that today RAK is actively seeking to help Iran get nuclear weapons, all the while aiding global terrorists everywhere...

As Iran rolls on into its "ten days of dawn" celebration -- during which it has promised to "punch" the West/peeps they don't like -- several important stories have come out of the Islamic Republic the past few days. Here are the few we are following here at D&D -- check back soon for updates on these and more!

Yes, I know this is an international affairs blog, but sometimes you just have to talk about more important things - in this case, football. So here are a few quick slants about the big game last night.

• As a Pats fan, I enjoyed seeing Peyton Manning blow the game. Over the years I've grudgingly come to respect him, drawn by his undeniably brilliant play and his shockingly funny commercials. Despite that, it was a nice dose of schadenfreude to see him choke when it mattered most.

• As a football fan, I enjoyed seeing Phil Simms blow the most crucial moment of the game. As the Colts were driving, he cautioned New Orleans about their defense, advising them not to blitz lest they give Peyton an opportunity. No sooner had he finished speaking than the Saints blitzed and Manning threw the pick-6 that iced the game. Now I have nothing against Phil Simms personally, but the lack of quality NFL commentators is a neglected problem. Every broadcast team (with the exception of Mike Tirico, Ron Jaworski, and Jon Gruden) this season has been atrocious. When a grad student with only intramural flag football experience (Flipmode Squad - '05 CHAMPS) offers more insight than the guy in the booth, something is wrong...

A while back my politically minded sister asked me if I had checked out this news and opinion website called the Daily Beast. I informed her that I had and despite its popularity amongst some quite intelligent friends of mine, I for one refuse to give that site a single hit. For any news outlet that wishes to be taken seriously simply cannot be proud of the fact that one of its most notable commentators is Meghan McCain, daughter of two time Presidential loser Senator John McCain.

UPDATE at 2:00 PM EST
Iran has informed the IAEA that they will begin enriching uranium to 20% starting tomorrow.

UPDATE at 1:24 PM EST
Iran's supreme leader has threatened violence if planned opposition marches lead by Mir Houssein Musavi are carried out this week. Iranians will "punch [them] in the mouth to shock them" Ayatollah Khamenei promised -- though he demurred over who "them" is -- the protesters, their leadership, or the "western puppet-masters" he claims are instigating their "counter-revolutionary" behavior.

News on Iran's next move continues below.
From Reuters India:

TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran will soon unveil a domestically-made air defence system with at least the same capability as Russia's S-300 anti-aircraft hardware, an Iranian air force commander was quoted as saying on Monday.