It: the absolute intransigence,
the lack of good intentions, the ultimate malevolence of Iran.
Today in Baghdad, the Iranians
rejected a proposal that had been put forward by P5 + 1. What was being
sought by the international community was a cessation of enrichment of uranium
to 20% (not even all enrichment!). In return Iran would
have received benefits such as medical isotopes and spare parts that Iran
needs for its for civilian airliners.
But what Iran wanted was the
easing of economic sanctions on Iranian oil export in return for Iranian pledges
that UN inspectors would be permitted wider inspection of their
facilities. (Remember: agreeing to permit inspections is not agreeing to
halt the process towards nuclear capability.)
And my favorite accusation, coming
from Iranian al-Alam TV:
"The discourse of the six powers
during the talks is very similar to that of Israel's prime minister and his
defense minister."
If, at all, it may be true that
the stance of the negotiating nations is tougher because of Israel's position,
this is a blessing. Not because the tougher stance might have positive results,
but rather because it exposes Iranian intentions.
~~~~~~~~~~
One can trace a line from the
situation that the world powers who are now negotiating find themselves
in backwards to the conciliatory stance offered to Iran over the last few
years by the Obama administration and the Europeans.
Obama's
"I-don't-want-to-appear-aggressive,
rather-I-reach-my-hand-out-to-you-so-we-can-achieve-dialogue" approach delivered
the message that the US was going to be a pushover.
One Iranian diplomat, cited by
YNet today, said that the package that had been offered fell short of a
"compromise."
A compromise?? Excuse
me? Thinking is seriously out of line here.
~~~~~~~~~~
Before today's negotiating session
had been held, Iran's media were putting out messages of optimism and reflecting
the attitude that they had "a strong negotiating position." Greatest
criticism was directed at the US Congress, which, in proposing tougher
sanctions, "was not giving a good message which shows they are not yet ready to
show good will....
"Some have mistakenly thought that
if they pressure Iran, Iran will give up." Translation: you cannot defeat
us with your sanctions.
~~~~~~~~~~
Iran is the greatest danger to
world peace in the world today. The greatest purveyor of terrorism. It is
on the edge of achieving nuclear capacity, has said it will destroy Israel, and
would, if nuclear, create a shield around renegade groups and nations. Not
incidentally, it also want to come after America.
And the world believes it can
negotiate with Iran's leaders. The world, incredibly, still imagines that
giving something to Iran in good spirit will move it towards a less
belligerent, more cooperative stance.
But Iran understands only an
iron fist. There should be no compromise, no gift-giving. Rather, a
message: "We consider you a threat to all we represent. Cease and desist or we
blow your heads off. You decide." Diplomatically said, of
course.
~~~~~~~~~~
An IAEA report now says that Iran
recently installed 350 additional centrifuges in the Fordo underground
uranium enrichment facility near Qom. This is while Iran is
supposed to be in the course of negotiations.
This is how it is,
folks.
~~~~~~~~~~
In spite of the failure of the
current talks, parties have agreed to meet again in Geneva, Switzerland in
mid-June. What this means is that from now until mid-June the
Iranians can sail along, uninhibited in their progress towards nuclear
capacity.
Declared on US official, "We think
we still have some time for diplomacy." Some optimism was expressed that
the pace of the talks would "pick up."
Not every official in the US is
this obtuse or self-deluding. This eager to pretend that negotiations
work.
Republican Senators John McCain
and Lindsey Graham, and Independent Joe Lieberman, in an op-ed in
yesterday's Wall Street Journal, declared,. "The U.S. must be
prepared, if necessary, to use military force to stop Iran from getting a
nuclear-weapons capability."
But unfortunately these gentlemen
are not running the country.
~~~~~~~~~~
Said Israel's Minister of Security
Affairs Bogie Ya'alon:
"As long as the centrifuges are
spinning, we will not remain calm." In the end, he observed, if all other
methods for trying to stop Iran fail, "someone may have to launch a military
strike on Iran."
"Someone."
~~~~~~~~~~
Clifford May, president of the
Foundation for Defense of Democracies, has written a powerful piece on this
issue that merits serious attention here (emphasis added):
"It’s no longer possible to pretend we don’t know
the intentions of Iran’s rulers. They keep telling us, candidly,
clearly and repeatedly. Most recently on Sunday: Addressing a gathering in
Tehran, Maj. Gen Hassan Firouzabadi, chief of staff of the Iranian Armed Forces,
vowed the 'full annihilation of the Zionist regime of Israel to the
end.'
"A
few days earlier, during a presentation at the Jerusalem Center for Public
Affairs, a respected Israeli think tank, the former Prime Minister of Spain,
Jose Maria Aznar, recalled a 'private discussion' in Tehran in October 2000 with
Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who told him: 'Israel must be
burned to the ground and made to disappear from the face of the
Earth.'
"...Khamenei also told Aznar that the goal of the Islamic Revolution
of 1979 has remained unchanged — to rid the world of two evils: Israel and the
U.S. Eventually, there must be an 'open confrontation.' Khamenei said it
was his duty to ensure that Iran prevailed.
"With this as context, it is
no longer possible to pretend that the acquisition of nuclear weapons is not a
priority for Khamenei. The notion that he is merely making — as Reuters
has charmingly phrased it — 'a peaceful bid to generate electricity,' or has not
decided whether he wants nuclear weapons, or wants them only as a deterrent
because he fears foreign aggression, or has issued a fatwa declaring possession
of nuclear weapons a sin, or favors diplomatic conflict resolution but requires
a series of 'confidence-building measures' is wishful thinking and
self-delusion, if not blatant disinformation.
"...Testifying before the House
Committee on Foreign Affairs last week, Mark Dubowitz, my colleague at the
Foundation for Defense of Democracies, warned Congress that Iran’s
negotiators would offer concessions that sound meaningful, but are not, in
exchange for Western concessions that sound trivial but amount to
capitulation.
"Dubowitz cautioned that it will
require vigorous Congressional oversight to make sure that Western diplomats
do not provide Iran with 'sanctions relief in the shadows,' meaning
that insurance, energy, financial and shipping-related
sanctions that have already passed into law will fail to be strictly enforced to
keep 'the process' going. That will be seen as preferable to
acknowledging diplomatic failure. The major media are likely to miss this, or
misreport it.
"In his presentation in Jerusalem,
Aznar recalled also a meeting he had with Vladimir Putin, in which he advised
the Russian president against selling surface-to-air missiles to Iran.
'Don’t worry, I, you, we can sell them everything, even if we are
worried by an Iranian nuclear bomb,' Aznar quoted Putin as saying. 'Because, at
the end of the day, Israel will take care of it.'
"Aznar told this story in Washington
about a year ago but at the time asked those of us in the room to keep it off
the record. I remember that he added incredulously: 'But that’s the Russian
policy? To let Israel take care of it?'
"If, in the days ahead, this
becomes the de facto policy of the U.S. and Europe as well, we should not
pretend we don’t know, or that we don’t understand the profound implications of
that."
~~~~~~~~~~
©
Arlene Kushner. This material is produced by Arlene Kushner,
functioning as an independent journalist. Permission is granted for it to be
reproduced only
with
proper attribution.
See my website at
www.arlenefromisrael.info
Contact Arlene at akushner@netvision.net.il
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