So Many Rubins

Michael Rubin calls Matt Yglesias a liar for, um, linking to this takedown of Michael Rubin's tiresome, transparent warmongering.

The item in question,, in which Rubin essentially condemns as a Khomeinist stooge anyone who doesn't hew to the AEI line, is a classic. I found this bit of autowriting particularly fun:

What should Washington do? It should not engage. Diplomacy absent Iranian sincerity is dangerous. Between 2000 and 2005, the height of Iran's reformist period, European Union trade with Tehran tripled. Rather than reform, the regime invested the hard currency into its ballistic missile and covert nuclear program. Today, Iran uses engagement to spin its centrifuges and run the clock.

Yes, imagine what could have happened between the years 2000 and 2005 that would have strengthened the position of hardliners within the Iranian government, and induced Iran to invest more in missiles and nuclear technology? As always, the problem with people like Michael Rubin is that they don't seem to understand that Iran has its own Michael Rubins, who, even as our Michael Rubins have been advocating confrontation, have been screaming their heads off for Iran to get strapped.