For years, the U.S. State Department has called the Islamic Republic of Iran the world's "most active state sponsor of terrorism," For years, U.S. officials say the Islamic Republic of Iran has continued to provide funding, weapons, training, and sanctuary to numerous terrorist groups based in the Middle East and elsewhere, posing a security concern to the international community. And for years, the U.S. Administration has been unable to outdo the Islamic Republic's propaganda machine and clearly has been unable or perhaps unwilling to help the Iranian people to end this nightmare in Iran.

President George W. Bush, of all U.S. presidents, at his annual State of the Union addresses, spoke numerous times about the plight of the Iranian people. He once said, "If the Iranian people stand for themselves, the United States will stand with them." Throughout his presidency, the Iranians, of all people, hailed this courageous president, as an angel of freedom and his popularity was surging in Iran while his approval rating at home was low.

As time went on, President Bush vowed that the Islamic Republic would never be allowed to achieve its goal of developing nuclear bombs during his watch. He kept using all kinds of threats and promises, in order to persuade the mullahs to drop the project, to no avail. When a belligerent end-of-the-worlder, Holocaust-denier Ahmadinejad, became the Islamic Republic of Iran's president, things started heating up greatly.

Time and again, the bellicose Ahmadinejad kept vilifying the Great Satan and its sidekick Israel for having the gall to demand Iran abandon its program while his two main adversaries had their own arsenal of nuclear weapons. Ahmadinejad informed the world that what the Islamic Republic does is within its own national rights. He shored up his credibility cleverly by dispatching endless series of negotiators to meetings with the Europeans. He was successfully stalling for time, while working around the clock to get to the Surge Capacity.

Iran, under the late shah, launched a plan to achieve "Surge Capacity:" A code word for getting all the ingredients and procedures down pat for making the bomb quickly, short of actually making it; a clever power-play.

England's two-Test series in India got the go-ahead after the players were assured at a meeting on Sunday there would be no threat to their safety.

England are due to fly from Abu Dhabi to India with a full squad today.

"It's a brave and courageous decision that will be respected around the world," said England & Wales Cricket Board managing director Hugh Morris.

England's one-day series in India was cut short after the 26 November terrorist attacks in Mumbai.

Following the attacks, players and staff returned home and were given time alone to decide whether they wanted to return for the Tests, before flying to Abu Dhabi where they have been holding a training camp.

The ECB announced the decision to go ahead with the tour after a two-hour meeting on Sunday, before which it was revealed both Andrew Flintoff and Steve Harmison were harbouring doubts about the tour.

"It's obviously been a very emotional 10 days or so since the atrocities in Mumbai," added Morris.

"We've had a lot of discussions with the players following a number of security information audits we've had from the very highest levels of government and our own security team.

"It has been a very difficult situation, a very emotional, sensitive time for everybody and it has been hard for the players to come to this decision but they all have, and we are looking forward to the challenge of playing India."

Hugh Morris and Sean Morris, chief executive of the Professional Cricketers' Association, as well as security adviser Reg Dickason, have spent time in India assessing the level of threat and security measures in place.