Iran has restarted their nuclear facility at Isfahan. Negotiations broke down on Saturday with Iran refusing the Europeans final proposal for incentives to keep the reactor closed. The Washington Post has a lead editorial about it today. I'm not sure I buy the Post's take on this.
The Post claims that this rejection is tantamount to Iran choosing bombs over jobs. I think the Iranians are trying to get the Europeans to sweeten the pot. After all, if they were going the bomb making route, why would they invite additional IAEA inspectors and install cameras to monitor their activities? That doesn't mean the world community should coddle the Iranians though. The IAEA should refer this matter to the UN Security Council, but the Europeans should continue negotiations. It is unclear whether sanctions could be legally imposed, but carrots always work better when backed up with sticks.
2 comments:
Did you see Rummy on this... first shots taken in threatening to step our little war up into Iran.
The worst thing we can do is get scared and give away the farm. Lets cut through the tough talk and look at the facts. US and Israeli intelligence analysts estimate that Iran is years away from a nuclear weapons capability. North Korea is very likely to be overstating its nuclear capabilities, and will not cease its program no matter what we give them.
What we have today is a crisis in diplomacy. It is impossible to reach a compromise when the intentions of the negotiating parties are mutually exclusive. But despite another failed relationship therapy session, nothing has changed in the capabilities reality.
This time, we must stand firm with the realization that the more we give, the more we fuel the fire.
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