Adam's Apple
Senior Member
- Apr 25, 2004
- 4,092
- 452
- 48
He hasn't been outsmarted yet in his plans to achieve his goal of a nuclear Iran. Who will be willing to step in and thwart his plans? I think he thinks the answer to that question is NO ONE, and he's probably right.
Just One Dog in the Hunt
By Michael Goodwin, The New York Daily News
August 23, 2006
Why would Ahmadinejad end the game when he's raking in oil gazillions and having fun? Whoever heard of him before he started acting like a crazy man with a knife on the subway?
Besides, things are going his way. His client terror groups, Hezbollah and Hamas, are running two governments, and he is stirring the pot in Iraq. Major nations are bidding against themselves to see what incentives it will take for him to padlock his nuke plants. The Great Satan (U.S.) and the Little Satan (Israel) are weakened because of failures in Iraq and Lebanon.
In poker, losers whine and winners say deal. So it is in this ultimate-stakes showdown. Ahmadinejad is a winner, for now, and he wants to keep playing.
That's why his response to the incentive package was bound to be a delay, a bid for more time to make more mischief. But the rest of the world better get serious in a hurry because Iran cannot be permitted to become a nuclear power. If it doesn't stop the enrichment process, it will have enough material for a bomb in short order. How short is unclear, but the time is close enough that endless delays risk Armageddon with someone who welcomes it.
Whatever the details of yesterday's response, Iran's intentions are already crystal clear. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the nation's latest fearsome-sounding "supreme leader," said Monday Iran would "forcefully" continue its nuclear program. Another Iranian government official told of plans to start a related heavy water plant and international inspectors were turned away from a facility, violating the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. Over the weekend, Iran held war games and test-fired missiles.
Any sane person would conclude that Iran is on a collision course with the world. But the United Nations is not made up of sane people, so U.S. Ambassador John Bolton will have a hard time in coming days. With the official deadline of Aug. 31 for Iran to suspend its nuke activities, Bolton must herd the Security Council toward imposing tough economic sanctions.
But China and Russia, with large commercial ties to Iran, are not enthusiastic and France remains occupied by the French. They can be expected to surrender soon.
So the Iranian front, like most of World War III, is left to the U.S. and Great Britain. Germany and Israel are ready to help, but we are basically on our own in ending Iran's follies.
It's a familiar but tiring picture. The dangers of letting Iran go nuclear are obvious. But much of the world is happy to sit on its timid butt and let Uncle Sam do the hard work. All the better to criticize us later.
for full article:
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/col/goodwin/story/445760p-375316c.html
Just One Dog in the Hunt
By Michael Goodwin, The New York Daily News
August 23, 2006
Why would Ahmadinejad end the game when he's raking in oil gazillions and having fun? Whoever heard of him before he started acting like a crazy man with a knife on the subway?
Besides, things are going his way. His client terror groups, Hezbollah and Hamas, are running two governments, and he is stirring the pot in Iraq. Major nations are bidding against themselves to see what incentives it will take for him to padlock his nuke plants. The Great Satan (U.S.) and the Little Satan (Israel) are weakened because of failures in Iraq and Lebanon.
In poker, losers whine and winners say deal. So it is in this ultimate-stakes showdown. Ahmadinejad is a winner, for now, and he wants to keep playing.
That's why his response to the incentive package was bound to be a delay, a bid for more time to make more mischief. But the rest of the world better get serious in a hurry because Iran cannot be permitted to become a nuclear power. If it doesn't stop the enrichment process, it will have enough material for a bomb in short order. How short is unclear, but the time is close enough that endless delays risk Armageddon with someone who welcomes it.
Whatever the details of yesterday's response, Iran's intentions are already crystal clear. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the nation's latest fearsome-sounding "supreme leader," said Monday Iran would "forcefully" continue its nuclear program. Another Iranian government official told of plans to start a related heavy water plant and international inspectors were turned away from a facility, violating the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. Over the weekend, Iran held war games and test-fired missiles.
Any sane person would conclude that Iran is on a collision course with the world. But the United Nations is not made up of sane people, so U.S. Ambassador John Bolton will have a hard time in coming days. With the official deadline of Aug. 31 for Iran to suspend its nuke activities, Bolton must herd the Security Council toward imposing tough economic sanctions.
But China and Russia, with large commercial ties to Iran, are not enthusiastic and France remains occupied by the French. They can be expected to surrender soon.
So the Iranian front, like most of World War III, is left to the U.S. and Great Britain. Germany and Israel are ready to help, but we are basically on our own in ending Iran's follies.
It's a familiar but tiring picture. The dangers of letting Iran go nuclear are obvious. But much of the world is happy to sit on its timid butt and let Uncle Sam do the hard work. All the better to criticize us later.
for full article:
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/col/goodwin/story/445760p-375316c.html
