Target Iran

Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld urged
the world Saturday to find a diplomatic solution to halt Iran's nuclear program,
but Sen. John McCain (news, bio, voting record) only hours later said that military
action could not be ruled out. … “The Iranian regime is today
the world's leading state sponsor of terrorism,” (Rumsfeld) said.
“The world does not want, and must work together to avoid, a nuclear Iran.”
Despite Rumsfeld's call for diplomacy, McCain said military action could not
be ruled out if diplomatic efforts fail to stop Iran from developing a nuclear
bomb. “Every option must remain on the table,” McCain told the security
conference after Rumsfeld spoke. “There's only one thing worse than military
action, that is a nuclear-armed Iran.” Rumsfeld
Urges Diplomacy in Iran Dispute

Iran, your number is up. That's the message sent today when the
IAEA reported the country to the UN Security Council. Russia and China are in,
but let me add up to a point, with Syria, Cuba and Venezuela saying no, and
Algeria, Belarus, Indonesia, Libya and South Africa abstaining.

The five permanent members have given Iran a one-month grace
period to straighten up and be a good nation.

In response, the lunatic Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
accused the big nuke powers of imposing “scientific apartheid.” This
guys got his rhetoric down, baby, with the rest of the world looking on with
their leverage on lock and load. Because if you think diplomacy is going to
get Ahmadinejad to back down you must also still be reading Stephen Hayes.

However, the dumbest thing I ever heard came from British Ambassador
Peter Jenkins:“Board members simply cannot understand
why Iran is so determined to press on with its [uranium] enrichment program.”
Jenkins' point was that with the UN Security Council sending such
a message to Iran, that leader nations will not tolerate mullahs with nukes, how could the country's leaders even think of moving forward with uranium
enrichment? It's doubtful Ambassador Jenkins could have sounded more obtuse.

Also in response, Javad Vaidi, deputy secretary of Iran's National
Security Council, said they are now forced to go forward and the decision
is “non-negotiable.” Part of this decision seems based, whether arbitrarily
or conveniently, on “…a law passed by Iran's parliament last year mandating
such retaliation if Iran were reported to the U.N. Security Council,” quoting
a passage from the above Washington Post article.

One out is that Russia has offered to enrich the uranium for
Iran on its soil, which seems to still be in play.

With Ahmadinejad using words like “hegemonic powers,” with back-up from Rafsanjani, the former
president who now heads Iran's Guardian Council, saying that Iran's nuclear
ambitions will “benefit mankind,” anything the Bush administration says in response is going to sound like Dick Cheney on crack.

Because of our situation in Iraq and the lack of credibility of
President Bush, which has spilled over to brand America, this is going to be
a very long month, with what lies at the end presenting a very ugly scenario.
For some of us, the country of true malevolence has always been Iran, and because
of Bush's preoccupation with preemption and his naivety on Iran, not to mention
the lack of real intel inside that country, today, our options are between Israel
and a U.S. airstrike.

The reality of U.N. action is that China will not go for sanctions, with Russia a definite who knows?

As for the neocons in the Nut House, not to mention the Left Behind
Bushies, well, this is just another leg on their dream of changing the Middle
East so they're ready for the rapture. Cue cheesy song “There's Got to
Be a Morning After” here.

So, if nothing happens after a month in the Security Council,
Israel or the United States will prepare to strike Iran. Meanwhile, over in Iraq… … The religious factions and insurgents currently fighting each other, will turn,
make a devil's deal, then begin their attack on every westerner, Israeli and American in the region,
with our troops in the middle of an escalating Middle East war.

But then again, if someone doesn't do something about Iran, and I'm not talking about talking, we
might as well start sending crates of iodide to Israel.