Iran Plays Into Chimp's Hand...Gives UN the Big FU

[Contrary1]

"Iran will immediately begin installing 3,000 centrifuges at a uranium enrichment plant as a reaction to sanctions approved by the U.N. Security Council resolution, Tehran’s chief nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani said in a newspaper interview Sunday.

“We will start our installation activities at the Natanz facility,” he told the Kayhan newspaper.

<snip>

Iran’s U.N. Ambassador Javad Zarif denounced the council for imposing sanctions on Iran, whose facilities are under U.N. safeguards, while doing nothing about Israel, whose prime minister recently appeared to confirm long suspicions that it is a nuclear power.

“A nation is being punished for exercising its inalienable rights” to develop nuclear energy, primarily at the behest of the United States and Israel, “which is apparently being rewarded today for having clandestinely developed and unlawfully possessed nuclear weapons,” Zarif said..."

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16318472/

[blitzen]

1. from what i gather, Iran does have the upper hand...

they're not so much playing into Chimp's hand--rather, they're calling his bluff

[Higans]

2. Our military is spread too thin. just like WWII Germany.

[Yukari Yakumo]

7. Furthermore...

We don't even know what sanctions are being imposed. In all likelihood, it'll be merely a slap on the wrist. Russia and China will oppose anything significant, and the U.S. is effectively powerless to do much of anything anyway.

[MGD]

4. George W. Bush bluff? I wouldn't bet on that one. definitely not his style,

I think he's exhausting every available diplomatic/peaceful option and then he's going to surprise a lot of people, most especially Mahmoud Ahmadinejihad. Take a good look at the Iranian position from a military standpoint and I don't see how you can say that have the upper hand. We have their entire country surrounded. I have very little doubt that this thing is going to happen and, like the OP said, the Iranians are playing right into his hands.

[Gloria]

3. And let's not forget India--we've just given them a load of nuke technology and

they are not under treaty obligations. Iran is a part of the nuke treaty and has let inspectors in. India is under no obligation at all. There are hints that India already has developed a bomb, too.

[MGD]

5. Yeah, well we really had to have those mangoes. What else could we do?

[fuzzyball]

6. You are mis-informed about India....

First of all, India is the LARGEST DEMOCRACY in the World.
India has complete freedom of press and more important, follows
strict rule of law. All these 3 items are missing in Iran.

India exploded nuclear device way back in 1974. They are known
to possess SEVERAL HUNDRED NUCLEAR BOMBS, not just one.

The recent pact between US and India is for transfer of CIVILIAN
nuclear technology, NOT military. India already has the technology
to build nuclear bombs.

[Hippo_Tron]

9. We're not concerned about India blowing Israel off the face of the earth

I'd have no problem with Iran having nuclear weapons if they weren't ruled by total nutjobs like the Ayatollah and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Don't get me wrong I'm not wild about the United States having any military capability other than self defense under Bush, but there's not much we can do in that regard.

[Hippo_Tron]

8. IMO, Ahmadinejad is Iran's version of Bush

They're both stubborn ideologues who are interested in appeasing a crowd of hard-liners and people who want to send the world back to the 13th century.

The world would be a much better place if both nations had leaders that were rational thinking statesmen willing to solve problems by talking rather than these two twits.