Article

2004-12-13 Syria-Lebanon-Iran

U.S.- European discord over Iran is deepening

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Posted by Zenster 2004-12-13 2:47:39 AM|| || Front Page|| [11138 views since 2007-05-07] Top

#1 "European discord over Iran is deepening"

What does that remind me of...?

Saudi 'surrounding' popped in. Power of associations... It has the same neverending quality.

Posted by Sobiesky 2004-12-13 6:01:55 AM|| 2004-12-13 6:01:55 AM|| Front Page Top

#2 ...discord over Iran deepening...

No surprise there. The good guys don't want the black turbans to have nukes. The unserious allies either don't care if they have nukes, or worse, may actually want the turbans to have nukes as a check on US power.

Posted by Mark Z. 2004-12-13 7:19:48 AM|| 2004-12-13 7:19:48 AM|| Front Page Top

#3 Europe is caught in a philosophical malaise. Western philosophies can be placed on a four-square grid of "realism" and "idealism" on one side and "optimism" and "pessimism" on the other. America is realistic and optimistic. Russia is idealistic and optimistic. But Europe is realistic and pessimistic. Their attitude is that "Things will drag on like this for years, in slow decline, then get much worse." And this is why America, and eventually Russia, will overtake Europe in just about everything. It is born of 1500 years of war, with idealism and optimism burned out of them, and condemns them to an existence of appeasement, surrender, diplomatic failure, meanness, and inadequacy. It is rather repulsive to most Americans, typified in things like dour French movies, where people are bored and unhappy, and remain bored and unhappy.

Posted by Anonymoose 2004-12-13 9:33:44 AM|| 2004-12-13 9:33:44 AM|| Front Page Top

#4 The "negotiations" farce continues. The EU Dwarves aren't on our side here. They would much prefer a nuclear Iran that menaces Israel and does lucrative (for the Euros) deals with the EU Dwarves to a non-nuclear Iran contained through aggressive sanctions and the real threat of US force.

The goal of the negotiations sham is to contain the US, not Iran.

Posted by lex 2004-12-13 9:44:32 AM|| 2004-12-13 9:44:32 AM|| Front Page Top

#5 European envoys said they told Iran that if it failed to comply with its agreement, they would join with the United States in referring the Iranian issue to the UN Security Council for possible further actions, including economic sanctions.

Which would of course happen one week after the Iranians HAVE the weapons. ;)

The timeline is important. I'd love to see European leaders supporting this idea explain it chronologically, so everyone could get a real picture of what they are supporting. Don't dodge the question, Europe-when does the period of grace expire? Will that be too late to take alternative action (besides sanctions)? If action was finally needed, would we see UN II, where you back away from threats you have no intention in carrying through on?

Always with Europe, the MO is to scramble to fix problems after only after they've gotten so big that you CAN'T fix them and choose to "tolerate" them. Doing so seems to have the tendency to produce millions of dead people.

Posted by Jules 187 2004-12-13 10:15:15 AM|| 2004-12-13 10:15:15 AM|| Front Page Top

#6 European envoys said they told Iran that if it failed to comply with its agreement, they would join with the United States in referring the Iranian issue to the UN Security Council for possible further actions, including economic sanctions.

Ooooh, that'll be something, won't it? There'll be twelve years worth of resolutions for Iran to allow inspections, there'll be sanctions, Food-for-Oil 2 (and the accompanying UN scandal), and numerous calls to come clean while the mullahs play the UN like a fiddle.

I can't believe that it's happening again.

Posted by Bomb-a-rama 2004-12-13 10:31:10 AM|| 2004-12-13 10:31:10 AM|| Front Page Top

#7 Yep. Looks like the UN problem that President Bush rightly raised (that its words do not match its deeds) is going to disappear of the radar screen so that everyone in Europe can pat themselves on the back on being so diplomatic and so clever in solving the Iranian problem. 'Cept, their solution just covers it up. When a cat turds in a box, he covers it up so everyone can eat their pate; in a couple of weeks, people figure out that covering it doesn't mean it's gone away.

Posted by Jules 187 2004-12-13 10:40:13 AM|| 2004-12-13 10:40:13 AM|| Front Page Top

#8 "European envoys said they told Iran that if it failed to comply with its agreement, they would join with the United States in referring the Iranian issue to the UN Security Council"

Make light of it if you will, but the Iranians realize that if they get just ONE MORE referral to the Security Council they may be suspended from ALL after school activities, have to attend Study Hallâ¦and may not get to graduate with their class! Theyâre quaking in their sandals in Tehran all right.

Posted by Justrand 2004-12-13 10:47:06 AM|| 2004-12-13 10:47:06 AM|| Front Page Top

#9 Europe wants to ply them with gold while America is still tending towards the use of lead.

Large volumes of lead, at high velocity.

Posted by mojo 2004-12-13 11:24:45 AM|| 2004-12-13 11:24:45 AM|| Front Page Top

#10 It's Europe that's being plied with gold. The mullahs don't care about economic carrots; they've already skimmed off millions and couldn't care less about the economic wellbeing of their miserable subjects.

Posted by lex 2004-12-13 11:29:20 AM|| 2004-12-13 11:29:20 AM|| Front Page Top

#11 Justrand - Would that be No Pass, No Pray?

Posted by .com 2004-12-13 11:34:03 AM|| 2004-12-13 11:34:03 AM|| Front Page Top

#12 This is the same fault line that we always break with on the Europeans. They always just want to talk about "doing it" so they never have to actually get around to "doing it". No wonder their birth rate is falling so low.

Posted by 2b 2004-12-13 12:19:02 PM|| 2004-12-13 12:19:02 PM|| Front Page Top

#13 Ah, what's a few million dead compared to the importance of EUropean ideals? You can't kill an idea!

Posted by Dishman 2004-12-13 5:20:44 PM|| 2004-12-13 5:20:44 PM|| Front Page Top

#14 Cheap PD cheap. Rerun. Still funny.

Posted by Shipman 2004-12-13 5:28:49 PM|| 2004-12-13 5:28:49 PM|| Front Page Top