Ahmadinejad Gets His Rant On At General Assembly Opening Session

It's that time of year when dictators and despots step up to the microphone at the United Nations opening session of the General Assembly. For the past couple of years, Iran's thug-in-charge, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has gotten up in front of the audience and ranted and raved about how the Israelis dominate the world organization, attacked US policy, and this year he didn't disappoint.

In fact, he decided to throw in a bit of 9/11 Trooferism, claiming that the US was behind the 9/11 attacks. To Ahmadinejad, the attacks were the result of the US and Israelis pulling strings and orchestrating the attacks. Apparently, Ahmadinejad and Alex Jones have shared a few thoughts - or at least are familiar with the craziness each espouses on a regular basis.

He knows that this kind of insanity plays well at home and among the Arab World. That's his audience, and he's trying to use it to his advantage.

Nick Clegg, the deputy Prime Minister of the UK, will spend some time today denouncing Ahmadinejad. Others denouncing Ahmadinejad including the head of the EU, who took him to task for his 9/11 claims.

It's good to see other world leaders take the time to denounce Ahmadinejad and his asinine claims, but the UN isn't exactly moving ahead in any serious way to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons.

That's the crux of the matter when it comes to Ahmadinejad and Iran. Ahamdinejad's rants are a symptom of a more serious problem - he's intent on expanding Iran's influence in the region and the world. Iran's nuclear program isn't a civilian project, and the secrecy shrouding its enrichment program are signs of a much larger and more dangerous program to build a nuclear weapons infrastructure. A regime with the genocidal rhetoric that Iran restates on a regular basis - particularly towards Israel - when combined with the means to carry out such threats - is a dangerous combination that must be prevented. That's the challenge that the UN faces.

And Ahmadinejad knows that. That's why another phase of his statements related to the inner workings of the UN and how the Security Council can trump the General Assembly. He wants to eliminate the Security Council's ability to implement policies without General Assembly support or approval and to eliminate the veto power of the Permanent Five members. It's a move that more than a few countries in the General Assembly would support, and it's all part of Ahmadinejad's strategy to expand its influence.