Congratulations to David Weeks from Dallas for winning our first comment of the week contest. David commented on our post, Coming Down from an Oil High regarding the international community's need to engage with Iran given the recent dip in oil prices.

In response to a fellow commenter Brett's remark, "We don't need Iran," David responded:

...I think the "we don't need Iran" argument and the containment strategy that usually accompanies that kind of thinking has dangerous implications. First, a containment strategy towards Iran encourages it to sponsor terrorist groups in Lebanon and Syria. Second, it encourages Iran to bolster its partnership with Russia and China, making U.S. sanctions less of a deterrent. Third, a containment strategy will probably worsen the already suffering Iranian economy and promote more extremist politics. Another thread explores the link between poverty and terrorism, but I think its generally accepted that more poverty is bad for a counter-terrorism agenda. Fourth, a containment policy is much more likely to give the Iranians incentive to develop a nuclear program. So if Iran can't manage its budget, as Bret puts it, I think this definitely creates a problem for the U.S.... I think that if oil prices rise again, the situation may repeat itself, and I think this is a key reason why the Obama administration needs to better engage Iran and Venezuela, rather than adopt a "we don't need you" approach.

David's comment was a thoughtful response to a previous comment, examining the ramifications of dismissing oil-rich (and potentially unstable) countries, addressed the incoming administration — and we just plain liked it.

Some other close runners up (and discussions we've been following) can be found on Is Poverty Linked to Terrorism? by Erin Connelly.

"Anony-mouse" in Portland, OR agrees with a commenter from Taiwan that if poverty equaled terrorism "sub-Saharan Africa would be the world leader in birthing terrorists left and right...Poverty, to me, seems a much more likely enabler of all kinds of nasty behavior, especially when such poverty is seen as being brought upon one group by another. Indeed, it is largely poverty that drives Palestinians to acts of desperate, fruitless rebellion against Israel."

Helina Bischoff of South Africa notes, "Terrorist activity is a last resort. It is undertaken when all other means to make ones voice heard are unsuccessful...A solid education is the only chance people have to succeed and escape their circumstances...The fact that most of the men involved in 9/11 were well-educated does not make a difference if they represent the ideas of an increasing number of regular people."

Great job to David, and keep those comments coming for a chance to win!