Matt Yglesias

Ryan Crocker: Dangerously Unprepared

Looks like US Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker is dangerously unprepared:

So is there a New Cold War, comparable to that with the former Soviet Union, between the US and Iran?

“I don’t think so,” says Crocker, formulating his answer as a putdown to Tehran. “The Soviet Union was a formidable force at its height, with a massive nuclear arsenal. It had half of Europe locked up in its grasp. Iran simply does not carry anything remotely like that weight, not internationally, not even regionally.”

Apparently he’s from the school of thought that thinks it’s wise to avoid hysterical overreactions. I look forward to conservatives calling for his resignation so we can replace him with someone with less foreign service experience and closer ties to Bill Kristol.