The Mahdi took charge upon the death of his father, the 11th imam, who, like the 10 before him, is thought to have been killed at the direction of the Sunni caliph. The Mahdi was 5 years old at the time. For his own protection, he is thought to have been sent into hiding, or "occultation."
Twelvers believe the Mahdi will emerge from hiding - with Jesus - when the world has fallen into chaos and civil strife, and that he will establish Shia Islam across the globe. Ahmadinejad has said, "Our revolution's main mission is to pave the way for the reappearance of the 12th imam, the Mahdi."
So what makes Ahmadinejad a radical Twelver? First, the vast majority of Shiites believe that only Allah knows when the Mahdi will return. But since his election four years ago, Ahmadinejad has been predicting the imminent return of the Mahdi. Even more ominous, Ahmadinejad believes that it is within his power to call the Mahdi back from his occultation.
How? It's believed that the Mahdi will return at a time of great chaos and war. This sheds some light on Ahmadinejad's pursuit of nuclear weapons and his talk of wiping out Israel: They threaten to create the kind of chaos and war amid which the Mahdi is expected to return.
Last week's election sparked genuine outbursts of opposition. Tragically, President Obama has served up high-flown platitudes about fair elections instead of being squarely behind a budding revolution that could eliminate the most dangerous regime on the planet.
Let's hope Obama seizes this moment in history. If not, he will be left with two choices: working with Netanyahu to defang an emboldened Ahmadinejad-led Iran, or, some day, explaining to a world in chaos and war why he did not."
The Nuclear threat from Iran becomes even more ominous in light of Ahmadinejad's desire to bring about the "end of time".
We do not have a savvy leader schooled in foreign policy. We have a naive man so focused on his political agenda for America he is blind to the looming threat marching towards us from Iran.
Benjamin Netanyahu has made it clear that Israel is contemplating action against the recently discovered secret nuclear facility in Iran.
While not stated, those who know the Prime Minister are convinced he will attack Iran with or without the help of the United States.
Will Obama stand by our ally or turn his back on them?
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