30-Jul-12: Iran's not-so-cute baby policy

An AP story that appeared in the small hours of this morning (Monday) ["Iran tells parents to get busy, have babies"] expands and rehashes on something that the LA Times ran a week ago: ["Iran's birth control policy sent birthrate tumbling: The birthrate plunged, helping to usher in social changes, particularly concerning the role of women"]

But notice that the LA Times has a pungent little remark in its July 22 story that somehow did not make it into AP. It's a non-direct quote from Iran's president:

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, however, has sought to reverse the trend toward smaller families. Doubling the country's population of 75 million would enable Iran to threaten the West, he said. He has denounced the contraceptive program as "a prescription for extinction," called on Iranian girls to marry no later than 16 or 17 and offered bonuses of more than $950 for each child. So far, he has been widely ignored.

We're surprised that a statement from the mouth of the Iranian president - speaking openly of threatening the west, albeit over a period of a generation - has gotten so little attention, assuming it's accurate.