He's more optimistic than I am

Tom Friedman, generally regarded as one of the more astute commentators on all things Middle Eastern, penned a piece in the New York Times in which he predicted in no uncertain terms that Israel would outlast Iran, mainly due to its very strong economy: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/08/opinion/08friedman.html?_r=1&oref=slogin. If one were to remove the homicidal regime running Iran from the equation, perhaps he would be right. However, and unlike Friedman, I take the Iranians at their word when they fulminate about wiping Israel off the map. One nuke over Tel Aviv would be the end of Israel, and then so much for that little economic engine that could about which Mr. Friedman is singing so many praises.