When Mahmoud Ahmadinejad walks up to the podium today in New York to deliver another blast of venom, the only proper response is for the US to hit Iran’s economy with much tougher sanctions than anyone has yet tried. That means targeting its oil industry, not just its leaders and its banks.
Otherwise, Iran’s President will deliver real injury, not just insult, to this crucial conference on the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). He has taken Iran to the brink of having nuclear weapons, and if it does soon get them (despite protestations that it only wants nuclear power), that will trigger a Middle East arms race.
The only country able to impose tough sanctions quickly is America. It should do so now. The brutal truth is that the time for dissuading Iran has probably passed. But if it hasn’t, the US needs to act now. It’s a tribute to the success of the NPT, in force since 1970 and signed by 189 countries, that these five-yearly reviews are usually dusty talks about the inspection of power stations. Meetings have tried to patch up ”” but not rewrite ”” the lopsided bargain built into the treaty. This says that the original five nuclear weapons states (the US, Russia, China, Britain and France) promise to help others to get nuclear power (but not weapons), while cutting their own stockpiles.
does this mean willingly paying higher gas prices?
Re #1
John,
Yes. Figure the odds.
Well, If a nuclear Iran is acceptable then all we need do is what we are doing. The UN will not act and Iran’s enablers, primarily, Russia and China will continue to support Iran. The Obama administration really has no stomach to do anything effective, they only want to appear to be doing something.
So I guess we better get used to nuclear Iran and terrorists getting and using portable nuclear bombs.
The “joker” in the pack is Israel. Having been the object of
antisemitic fury as openly espoused by Hitler in his writings
and speeches even before he was in power, the Jews are unlikely
to sit back while Iran’s evil leader parades his missiles, bombs,
and pernicious intentions before the world. Ahmadinejad, as Hitler
before him did, is leading his nation toward the greatest catastrophe
in its history.
Israel has nucs. It doesn’t matter who the Israeli PM is, he or she will never allow Iran a first use. The anti-semitic policies of the US (whether they are intentional or merely based on the administration’s stupidity) are driving us over a cliff and into a disaster.