I see Bush and Co. are ready to move in earnest against Iran. Ever since the whole "axis of evil" speech, I've been very confused. Of course, one issue is, is it such a good idea to label a country "evil" and expect it to continue to honor peace treaties with you? Even my sister, pro-Iraq war (and who believes the faking of the Gulf of Tonkin incident was a brilliant tactical move) views that speech as misguided. But what I really don't get is, what ever happened to progress in Iran? I was under the impression that Iran was taking baby steps toward a secular government. I thought the current leadership was drifting slowly in a moderate direction, being of course careful not to anger the radical Islamic leaders (who I imagine will only gain in influence during the "people's uprising" the U.S. government is hoping to incite). I'm no expert in Iran, by any means, but I just don't understand if there was a shift back to extremeism in Iran, or if the change is only in the West's perceptions after September 11th.