Saturday, August 06, 2005

Iran Says, "NO!"

"Iran Rejects Offer to End Its Nuclear Impasse," accoding to a New York Times headline Great Britain, France and Germany had worked out the EU's proposal. The plan called for a package of economic, political and security measures. Iran was to cooperate with international inspectors, who would determine that the Iran operated its nuclear program for strictly peaceful purposes. Iran refused the deal:
A Foreign Ministry statement announcing the decision came as Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was sworn in as Iran's new president.

President Ahmadinejad's new government now faces a decision about whether to proceed with Iran's announced plan to continue with a uranium conversion process that Tehran suspended a year ago, a step that the West has said may lead to it seeking sanctions against Iran at the United Nations Security Council.
The new foaming, bronze-age fanatical dictator duly elected President of the Islamic Republic had this to say at his inauguration: "We want peace and justice for all and they are the integral part of our foreign policy," he said, addressing senior Iranian officials and foreign ambassadors at the ceremony. "I stress on these two principles so that countries which use the instrument of threat against our nation know that our people will never give up its right to justice."

"I don't know why some countries do not want to understand that the Iranian people will never give in to pressure," he added. "When people see such attitude, resistance grows in them and achieving a national right becomes an ideal."
As to what Iran would consider pressure, see the comments of Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman:
European officials had said that if Iran rejected the offer, as they expected, the board of the International Atomic Energy Agency, the United Nations watchdog, would probably meet on Tuesday in Vienna.

Mr. Assefi, the Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman, said such a meeting would be an effort to pressure Iran.
Iran has claimed that it needs nuclear power to increase electricity on it's power grid. Sure. A country with the second largest supply of Natural gas and one of the top ten suppliers of international oil needs nuclear power to increase it's electricity. If it does, fine. Why does it need to refine Uranium to do that? Since when is weapons-grade plutonium necessary to produce electricity?

Meanwhile, the rogue nation remains a sponser of Terrorism. Iran and Syria support Hezbollah. They've supplied the deadly IEDs that the butchers in Iraq have attacked U.S. servicemen. They've given shelter to the Al Qaeda-affliated Ansar al-Islam/Ansar al-Sunnah. They may have operated training camps for Al Qaeda on their Eastern border with Afghanistan.

Now, they say their going to resume a nuclear program whose operations they concealed for as long as possible. Is anyone else troubled by this?

The United Nations had better apply serious pressure to Iran. Any efforts the West can make to support dissidents or even an insurgency within the Islamic Republic should begin immediately. The Mullahs in Iran must never be allowed to provide nuclear weapons to islamo-fascists like Al Qaeda. Their fanatical psychosis must not lead the world to nuclear holecaust. Iran should either submit to International Inspections or else face the consequences of a world united to stop them.

Having said this, I would not want the U.S. to go it along against Iran. Our plate is quite full, thank you very much. HOWEVER, if the UN plays its typical corrupt games, and if the Security Council nations abdicate their responsibilities in favor of their domestic political considerations, then the US should prepare to do whatever it can. I don't believe invasion is the answer at the moment. However, the US must apply her considerable influence to ensure that Iran can't become the nuclear supplier to Jihadists worldwide. Failure is not an option.