It’s the end of the world as we know it?

August 22, 2006

It’s August 22, and if you think this is just another date on the calendar, you’ve been missing out on all kinds of bizarre speculation, particularly coming from our friends on the right.

This year, [tag]August 22[/tag] marks the holy day on the [tag]Islamic[/tag] [tag]calendar[/tag] that is the day of reckoning for Shiites. Some Shiite sects believe that August 22 could correspond to the end of the world. And just today, after much hype, Iran has announced that it will continue to develop its nuclear program. To followers of Iranian President [tag]Ahmadinejad[/tag], this is a well-timed affront to Israel, the United States and the world. The United Nations had given Iran until the end of the month to respond, but Ahmadinejad had made it clear to all Iranians and the world that he intended to respond on the eve of August 22.

Whether or not this announcement is the end of Ahmadinejad’s plans for August 22, one expert says we will have to wait and watch.

“The only thing we can know is that the date was not chosen by accident,” said Robert Spencer, Director of Jihadwatch.org and an adjunct fellow at the Free Congress Foundation, a conservative think tank. “It does seem very likely, very probable, that he has something major in mind, whether only a major announcement or a major attack, we will soon see.”

Just to be clear, federal officials have reportedly taken no extra precautions, and have no extra safeguards in place because of the date. (Indeed, if this is an annual event on the Islamic calendar, wouldn’t this have come up last year?)

Nevertheless, while I obviously have no idea whether something horrible is going to happen or not, when a surprisingly large number of conservatives start talking about the end of the world, my skepticism-o-meter tends to redline.

As TP noted yesterday, sites like the National Review, among others, have suggested that Ahmadinejad may have already “chosen to launch the [tag]apocalypse[/tag]” today.

* “What is the significance of Aug. 22? […] This might well be deemed an appropriate date for the apocalyptic ending of Israel and if necessary of the world. It is far from certain that Mr. Ahmadinejad plans any such cataclysmic events precisely for Aug. 22. But it would be wise to bear the possibility in mind.” [Bernard Lewis op-ed, Wall Street Journal, 8/8/06]

* “We all hope and pray that August 22 is not the day Ahmadinejad has chosen to launch the apocalypse, but there is little doubt in the White House and at the CIA that the Iranian leader is feverishly trying to build, buy, or steal nuclear weapons, and that he will quite likely use them once he has them.” [Joel Rosenberg, National Review, 8/10/06]

* “Will [Ahmadinejad] attempt to make good on these threats this year on the anniversary of the Miraj [August 22], illuminating the night sky over Jerusalem? Will Western powers heed Farid Ghadry’s words and move to stop Iran before it is too late?” [Front Page Magazine, 7/27/06]

* “It’s an important symbolic day for jihadists. And I’m curious to see what happens on Tuesday. [Ahmadinejad] may just say no or he may do something a little more dramatic, launch a missile or something, to show that – Iranian defiance of what looks like an impotent West.” [Bill Kristol, Fox News Sunday, 8/20/06]

As a rule, I ignore apocalyptic dates because, well, they’re always wrong, but I suppose we should consider ourselves warned.

Update: Iran delivered its formal response this morning to an incentives package. Iran apparently wants a new round of negotiations “with the West on the dispute.

I don’t claim to be an apocalyptic expert, but this seems to fall a little short of disaster.

I’m with you CB.

I find it incredibly funny that a people (fundies of all stripes) who stomped on astronomy or banned it can predict the end of the world.

Through out time armageddon has come to earth, but usually in the form of a comet or asteroid that wipes out most life and resets evolution (oh yeah, many of them hate that too.)

Considering that Bill Kristol is somewhat worried doesn’t mean a pile of rat turds to me. So far he’s been pretty much wrong about everything. Perhaps Billy would have better luck trying to reanimate his long dead daddio than playing Nostradumbass.

  • Ahmadinejad & his crew have got to fall down laughing every time they little twitch & the wingers run & hide under a table somewhere.

  • Tell Bill Kristol for me that the impotence of the West is due entirely to his NeoCon policies of attacking countries with objectives we can’t meet because his crowd is against raising enough revenue to pay for the policies he exposes.

    If Kristol’s pissed that Iran and Ahmadinejad scoff at American power, it’s his own fault.

    As for Ahmadinejad starting a war to end the world, I say let’s just kill the smuck and avoid the whole question.

    I’ve come to the conclusion that all of Boy George II’s problems arise from the fact that he always lost games of “I win”. You know the game “I win”. Whenever you are playing with other kids at some unfamilar game, eventually the game collapses and the kids start arguing about who won (I’ve seen adults do this too). The loudest, cleverest and most agressive kid usually ends up with the most successful claim of victory. And I bet you it was not ever George Walker Bush (probably it was Jeb 😉 )

    Now look at a couple of examples from Boy George II’s administration. He starts a war with Iraq and Saddam, who he admits had nothing to do with 9/11/01. But Saddam did claim after GHWB’s defeat in 1992 that Saddam won the Gulf War because he was in power and GHWB was out. Then look at Boy George II’s reaction to the Israeli-Hezbollah War aftermath. He seems deeply offended that Hezbollah, Syria and Iran are all claiming victory. He just can’t seem to handle it.

    Finally, look at his attitude about Iraq. We could leave now (taking Saddam with us, of course) and claim a sort of victory. But then there’d be arguments and others would start claiming victory. Iran certainly would, as so would al Qaeda. I bet even Saddam would claim victory from his cell in GitMo. It would be just like Boy George II’s youth, when he was always being out witted in the game of “I win”.

    So we have to stay, and American soldiers and marines have to keep dying, until Boy George II is sure nobody else is going to claim “I win”, or he no longer is playing the game (January 2009).

  • These people soil themselves at the drop of hat these days, don’t they? Of course, if my advocacy were directly responsible for making the world a much more dangerous place, I’d be on edge, too.

    Wait a minute, I thought we were supposed to cheering the Rapture on. Shouldn’t they be hoping Ahmadinejad does something to spur that on?

  • It’s the end of the world as we know it, and

    I. Feel. Fine.

    I see on CNN.com that Ahmadinejad just handed over his response. Just like that. Just gave them some papers. [drudge]HAVE THOSE PAPERS CHECKED!!! THEY COULD CONTAIN POSIONOUS INKS!! [/drudge]

  • “It’s the end of the world as we know it”

    Damn it, CB, now I’ve got that R.E.M. (Document) song going in my head.

    But it does provide the perfect followup line: “And I feel fine.”

    more lyrics (also appropriate):
    “Uh oh, overflow, population, common group, but it’ll do. Save yourself, serve yourself. World serves its own needs, listen to your heart bleed. Tell me with the rapture and the reverent in the right – right. You vitriolic, patriotic, slam, fight, bright light, feeling pretty psyched.”

  • On the local news in Philly last night – on ABC, not the 700 Club – they did a segment that had me laughing and crying alternately. Mind you, I was not crying about the possible end of the world, but about the sorry state of the press. The segment included several clips of mushroom clouds and street scenes in Jerusalem. Five little years ago such a “news” segment would have been unthinkable.

    This is really where both the actual terrorists (probably far fewer in number and less organized and less ready to attack than we have been scared into believing) and the GOP have won – and “make no mistake” they are on the same side with this objective. All the blather and bluster and worrying about what might happen has made it possible to openly discuss just about any crackpot scheme as though it were seriously possible, and probably going to happen next week.

    The US is (or used to be) the elephant that is terrified by the mouse. But thanks to the scare machine we worry about how many mice there are and what hare-brained scheme they are cooking up next. Doomsday? On the local news? What a joke.

  • When you roll back your thinking a few thousand years, all sorts of weird sh++ happens. Tomorrow: Sea Serpent Swallows Oil Tanker; then Slithers off Edge of Earth.

  • Personally, I haven’t the least bit of a problem with the fact that Mahmoud Ahmadinejad thinks that Herr Bush is a witless twit. After all, I think that Herr Bush is a witless twit. A whole lot of Americans, Canadians, Mexicans, Europeans, Asians, South Americans, and Australians also think that Herr Bush is a witless twit. The tally on Antarctica’s penguin population is still out, though….

  • Let’s stop buying into the Bush and MSM narrative that Ahmadinejad has any real power in Iran. He doesn’t. At least, he doesn’t have any more power than his predecessor, the liberal Khatami, did. Funny how BushCo and the pundits always talked about how “powerless” Khatami was when he tried to institute reforms, but how “dangerous” Ahmadinejad is in the same position. It’s all about creating a monstrous enemy in our anti-Iran narrative.

    The power in Iran rests, and has always rested, with the clerics.

  • New Movie: “Religious Snake-Handlers in a White House.”

    followed by: “The President’s Brain is Missing.”

    Coming soon: “The Day the Earth Still Stood.”

  • If it was a Muslim date, then it wouldn’t be August 22 every year anyway. The Muslim calendar is completely lunar–which is why Ramadan moves through the year.

    Someone who says that August 22 is important in a religious sense to Muslims is just ignorant.

  • JohnnyB is exactly right.

    Ahmadinejad and Bush play the same role, frontmen who draw attention away from the real powerbrokers.
    Ahmadinejad can rant and rave, deny the Holocaust, and go after Israel and the US all he wants. But the real decisions in Iran are made by Khamenei and the mullahs.

    Also, what proof is there that Iran would use a nuclear weapon if they aquire one?

    Lastly, it amazes me how Iran with 1 nuclear bomb somehow makes the 6,000 that the US possesses (and Israel’s 75-100) impotent.

  • “Also, what proof is there that Iran would use a nuclear weapon if they aquire one?” – 2Manchu

    Depends on your definition of ‘use’. Iran would have three possible ‘uses’ for a nuclear weapon:

    One, they could try to destroy the largest Israeli population outside of Jerusalem (that would be Tel Aviv),

    Two, they could try to get the Pakistani to stop killing Shites in their country (which they do on a regular basis),

    Three, they could tell the Sunni clerics and Saudi royal family that the Iranians will now be the guardians of the holy places of Islam (Mecca and Medina).

    The problem with one and two is those people have nuclear weapons too.

    And just how long do you think it would take the oil wealthy Saudis to start building a nuclear program if the Iranians talk like that?

    Stopping Iran from getting the bomb is all about stopping the Saudis and Egyptians from getting the bomb.

    Just like stopping North Korea from keeping the bomb is all about stopping Japan from going nuclear.

  • (Indeed, if this is an annual event on the Islamic calendar, wouldn’t this have come up last year?)

    Nah, it only comes up during even numbered years, just like the terror level.

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