The increasingly popular Mr. Ahmadinejad

American officials have claimed that not only is Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad a threat to world peace, he faces insurrection at home. They wish. Threat to world peace he may be but he is very popular in Iran and becoming more so every day. Nasser Hadian-Jazy, a political science professor at Tehran University, believes Ahmadinejad has a 70% approval rating. Opinion polls in Iran don't mean much; nonetheless, Western diplomats agree his support is increasing.

His populist style and biweekly meet-the-people tours of the country contribute to his image as an honest man of the people, and standing up to the West on the nuclear issue doesn't hurt. As George W. Bush well knows, nothing rallies the folks around a leader like standing up to an enemy, particularly a foreign devil.

He has even pleasantly surprised Iranians by being less of a religious conservative than expected. He has criticized the perks enjoyed by some of Iran's ruling clerics and even attempted to allow women to attend soccer games (he was overruled).

Ahmadinejad's staunch defence of Iran's nuclear program, and his virulent criticism of Israel combined with Iran's strong support for the Palestinians, has made him a hero on the Arab street. The U.S. might want to be very careful about messing with this guy.