Israel Matzav

The Gray Lady doesn't get it on Iran

The New York Times looks at Tuesday's IAEA report on Iran's development of nuclear weapons and finds much about which to be concerned. But their 'solution' is unbelievable: More incentives. Which part of Iran's 'right to develop nuclear weapons' did they not get? Here's what Ahmadinejad said:

"The Iranian nation considers nuclear energy its definite right and does not accept any additional and cruel rules," Ahmadinejad said, alluding to a possible new round of United Nations sanctions.

His speech drew chants of "Nuclear energy is our definite right!" from the crowd.

And here's how the Times responds:

This latest report is alarming, but it must not be used as an excuse by Washington hard-liners to launch another war. There are no good military options.

The United States and the other major powers — Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany — have yet to put together a serious package of incentives and sanctions that might persuade Iran to change course. [What were the last three tries? Swiss cheese? CiJ]

That must include a credible American offer of security guarantees and normalized relations if Tehran abandons any nuclear weapons ambitions. If Iran persists, it must face sanctions with a lot more bite than Russia and China have been willing to consider, including a broader ban on doing business with Iranian banks and bans on arms sales and new investments in Iran. [What makes the Times think that Russia and China will ever consider effective sanctions? CiJ]

Javier Solana, the European Union’s foreign policy chief, is scheduled to visit Tehran next month and present an enhanced incentives package. Insiders say it differs little from one proposed in 2006. We hope they are wrong. Before Mr. Solana goes, the major powers need to come up with a more compelling list of rewards and punishments. Too much time has already been wasted.

Well at least we can agree that too much time has been wasted. And the longer this goes on, the closer Iran gets to nuclear weapons and the more the war option becomes the only option other than letting Iran be a nuclear power. And the more costly the war option becomes.

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 6:45 PM