Call it gullibility. Call it lack of courage. Call it denial. Call it what you want. But when you watch Iran bob and weave on its relentless march to nuclear weapons, you have to imagine the laughter of the Iranian leadership behind closed doors.
Whatever they say, works. However much they contradict themselves, matters not. However many times they violate UN resolutions snubbing their noses at one this-time-we-really-mean-it-deadline after another nothing happens. Whatever the charade, which the West takes at face value as another serious Iranian attempt to resolve its conflict with the West, Iran ultimately treats it for what it is: a charade. And the West keeps buying it, hook, line and sinker.
Most recently, the charade was Irans supposed willingness to ship its nuclear material out of Iran, to be processed in a way that made it useful for civilian, not military, purposes. O the West loved that one, fell for that one. Without rehearsing all the bends and turns, the bottom line is now clear, and was completely predictable to any sane observer from the beginning: Irans release of its nuclear material never happened. It never will happen.
But our diplomats are not sane. They indulge in high order delusion. In the face of the worst menace to world peace since Communism, our diplomats scratch their heads, go back to the drawing board, figure out still one more mythical approach, resting on the utterly refuted assumption that Iran will accommodate the West, if only the right formula is found.
All the while, Iran marches ahead, no doubt somewhat puzzled, though also delighted, at how easy it is, how soft a pushover the West is.
Now comes Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, saying that Iran is heading toward a military dictatorship. Duh. What does she think Iran has been since 1979? Clinton is merely using this ploy to convince Russia and China to go along with sanctions against Irans military, and only against its military, which is just another weak-kneed move that avoids the only tactics that will work: tough, comprehensive sanctions that will bring the entire country to a halt, or a military attack.
Say what you want about the strong national security measures that George Bush put into place, he punted on Iran. Say what you want about the hawks in the Republican Party, they are dead doves when it comes to Iran. Barack Obama, too, has wasted a year trying to show how reasonable he is, how sincere he is in seeking a respectful dialogue with Iran. Bush, Obama: its all the same when it comes to Iran.
Iran is not looking for respect. Iran seeks world domination, and the means to get there: nuclear weapons. Oh yes, and along the way, Iran seeks the destruction of Israel. If the word respect is to be used at all in reference to Iran, the single context is this: Power. Powerful pushback from the West. Iran respects only strength.
Not resolutions. Not sanctions (and surely not the meaningless ones now in place). Not a flip-flopping West that one day talks tough, and one day is falling all over its face to pursue Irans supposed willingness to turn over its nuclear material for processing in Russia.
For a decade, the UN has proven itself to be irrelevant, passing resolution after resolution, demanding Iranian transparency on its nuclear program, then doing nothing when Iran goes its merry way. On Iran, the UN is empty. Same with the US Congress. Its game is first to consider sanctions with teeth, then, under Hillary Clinton, seek sanctions only against the actual military in Iran, but refusing even to do that without the full cooperation of Russia and China. But Russia and China constitute the precise reason for the lack of backbone at the UN Security Council. Around in circles we go. Gullibility. Spinelessness. Denial. Call it what you want.
Say it like it is: When the last two American presidents, and when their losing presidential opponents, all said about Iran, we are taking no option off the table, it was meaningless verbiage.
Iran plays the West like a fiddle. The danger gets worse by the day. The price of acting against Iran rises by the day, while we sit and ponder the weather or the stock market or the Super Bowl.
We ourselves need to act against Iran. Or, at a minimum, and given Irans explicit intention to destroy Israel, we need to give Israel the green light, that is: (a) the OK to attack Irans nuclear facilities if Israel deems her national security at risk; (b) the right of Israel to unrestricted use of airspace over Iraq; (c) American willingness to defend Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Egypt and other American allies in the region against an Iranian retaliation; (d) American resupply of Israels weapon stocks; (e) diplomatic defense of Israel at the UN, the EU and other world forums; and, (f) if Iranian retaliation actually does threaten Israels existence, the understanding that Israel might resort to a nuclear weapon, G-d forbid.
