Augstein engages in frequent assaults on the United States and its political and economic system. In one of his weekly “When in Doubt, Think Left,” columns Austein equates Republican party members with the Taliban. In short, he writes, “They are the Taliban of the West,” andreaches the conclusion that “the downfall of the American empire” is nigh. His reason? American society is “totally dominated by capitalism.” In some ways, Augstein has become the voice for the Iranian regime in the Federal Republic. Despite mounting International Atomic Energy Agency reports, along with Western and Israeli intelligence assessments documenting Iran’s work on nuclear technologies with military applications, Augstein insists there is no proof that Iran is working on a nuclear weapon. http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/337532/ider-spiegeli-s-america-problem-benjamin-weinthal#comments