I have a hard time keeping the players stright.

Bush wanted to let the United Arab Emirates to manage our ports.  He said that the UAE is a "committed ally in the war on terror".

So . . . UAE = "good guy", according to Bush.

Meanwhile, we’re all pounding our chests and beating the war drums because Iran is getting all nuked up, and that’s threatening to us.

So . . . Iran = "bad guy".

So far so good.  But then yesterday, according to an Iranian news agency, Iran’s Deputy Minister and the UAE’s Prime Minister met and celebrated the two countries’ great relations, which they both said they were committed to expanding "in all areas":

Deputy Foreign Minister Mehdi Mostafavi and Deputy Emir and Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Sheikh Mohammad ben Rashid al-Maktoum stressed Monday expansion of relations between Iran and UAE in all areas.

Mostafavi lauded al-Maktoum on his efforts in strengthening bilateral ties and invited him for a state visit to Tehran.

Mostafavi also briefed the Dubai’s ruler on the Iranians positions on Iraq and Palestinians developments, and described the trend of Iran-Russia talks on Tehran resolve in acquiring peaceful nuclear technology. . . .

Glenn Greenwald asks the right questions:

If Iran were really the Ultimate Terrorist Evil, the new Nazi Germany, would one of our "most committed allies in the war on terror" maintain such friendly relations with them? For a reasonable, moderate, responsible anti-terrorist country like the UAE to maintain such a close alliance with Iran, mustn’t there be some rationality and stability in the Iranian government?

And why is the UAE’s extreme hostility to Israel — to the point where it denies Israel’s right to exist and bans its citizens from entering the country — consistent with our close alliance with the UAE, but Iran’s extreme hostility towards Israel (admittedly with more inflammatory rhetoric) compels us to view Iran as the new Nazi Germany?