"ALL CAPS IN DEFENSE OF LIBERTY IS NO VICE."

Sunday, January 15, 2006

HOW SHOULD WE STOP IRAN'S NUKE PROGRAM: SANCTIONS OR A PREEMPTIVE STRIKE?

A couple of YEARS ago, Iran was caught violating the NPT and lying to the IAEA for 18 years.

Now Iran has burned all its bridges by opening all the IAEA seals and going ahead with uranium enrichment despite multilateral negotiations aimed at allowing Iran to expand its nuclear power production and even buy lots of enriched uranium and expanding Iran's economic relationships with the West, without letting them enrich their own urianium. The HOOK was, the IAEA had to be allowed to inspoect Iran's nuclear infrastructure periodically in order to make sure nothing was being divwerted for the production of BOMBS.

(For those folks who feel that we are being unfair to Iran: Even Sweden - a highly advanced nuclear power producing nation - doesn't enrich their own uranium; they buy it from an international consortium.)

Well, now that Iran has taken unilateral actions which make further negotiations MEANINGLESS, WHAT SHOULD WE DO!?

We could go to the UN Security and get sanctions against Iran. The sanctions would mean that they couldn't sell anything EXCEPT oil, and then only through a special program administered by the UN, which would also make sure that Iran didn't use the proveeds of those sales for anything except food and medicine. We could call it the UN OIL FOR FOOD PROGRAM.

OH.... SORRY... YOU'RE RIGHT: we tried sanctions like that once, and it failed.

Okay, then. Since we know that doesn't work, why wait? Why postpone the INEVITABLE!? LET'S LAUNCH MISSILES ASAP.

Getting the IAEA to refer it to the UNSC and then trying to get the UNSC to approve sanctions is POINTLESS, except as a way to prove (to people prone to appeasement) that we are reasonable and have tried EVERYTHING, and the Iranians are unreasonable. BUT DON'T WE KNOW THAT ALREADY!? We sure do. So, let's forget the "PR" and do the right thing: obliterate Iran's nuclear infrastructure NOW.

Some worry that a preemtive airstrike would lead to a major spike up in oil prices. BUT NOW, THE IRANIANS HAVE THREATENED TO RADICALLY RAISE OIL PRICES IF WE ENACT SANCTIONS!
So, you see: there's NOTHING for us to lose by uasing military force, and lots to gain: It's the ONLY way to guarantee that the the Iranian Mullah tyrants don't get a nuke.

UPDATE - 1/16/06: It looks to me like Russia is HELPING IRAN with stalling tactics (perhaps in the hope of delaying any pre-emptive attack until it's too late and Iran HAS either a nuclear bomb,
or at least much more hardened air-defenses - which, may I point out, THEY'RE BUYING FROM PUTIN!):
BBC:
Russian President Vladimir Putin has hinted compromise is still possible on Iran's controversial nuclear programme. He said Iran had not rejected a Russian offer to enrich uranium for its nuclear programme - which would make it harder for Iran to make nuclear weapons. He was speaking as top Western nations tried to persuade Russia and China to support a hard line on Iran, which insists its programme is not military.
I DON'T TRUST PUTIN.

6 comments:

Pastorius said...

Look, my brother, I've been saying this to you for quite a while now, and I don't think you were ever stupid enough to think sanctions would work. So, what gives?

Reliapundit said...

sanctions are gonna get voted on (if russia and china don't threaten a veto, and promise to abstain).

i am not in favor of them.

but they are gonna happen.

i wish we didn't have to go through the "kabuki dance", but that's they way of the world (right now).

WHY!?

because the Left here and in europe demands it and bush - weenie/"compassionate conservative" that he is - wants to try to get it.

he is willing to try anything to get them on board. if he doesn't (after makking every effort)he will do what he must.

bush will act. i trust him.

Anonymous said...

I think we could help Iran's nuclear program by delivering the weapons material directly to them. ;-)

Anonymous said...

I think that we should trust Putin every bit as much as the Ukrainians...not at all. Isn't there too much at stake to leave this for someone else to do? Look how trust worthy these people are with conventional explosives? Ask yourself Why are they so committed to making a Nuclear Bomb? We better wipe out their ability to make them or we better just surrender now because once they import a bomb into this country and detonate it in say Orlando or Phily that will be all we can stand. Barry Jon

Anonymous said...

Trust Putin? Are you mad?

Putin recently sold Iran anti aircraft guns and proclaimed that Hamas was not a terrorist organisation.

I always thought that if someone blows up civilians on their way to work/eating pizza/in a nightclub...... they would count as a terrorist. Funney that.

Think about it.

Read about the missile systems Russia is selling to Iran then decide if Putin should be trusted or not or even shot.

- Steven

Anonymous said...

Leadership and neucleur facilities in Iran must be stopped sooner rather than later.

- Steven