Dr. Krauthammer Never Learns

[BurtWorm]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/24/AR2006082401328_pf.html

The Perils Of Using 'The Allies'

By Charles Krauthammer
Friday, August 25, 2006; A17

The problem is not quite as intractable as North Korea because Iran has not crossed the nuclear threshold. And American diplomacy has, up until now, been defensible. Secretary Rice's June initiative, postponing Security Council debate on sanctions, was meant to keep the allies on board. It offered Iran a major array of economic and diplomatic incentives (including talks with the United States), with but a single condition: Iran had to verifiably halt uranium enrichment.

Iran's answer is now in. It will not. Indeed, on the day before it sent its reply to the United Nations, Iran barred International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors from the uranium enrichment facilities at Natanz. Our exercise in multilateralism has now reached criticality. We never expected Iran to respond positively. The whole point in going the extra mile was to demonstrate American good will and thus get our partners to support real sanctions at the Security Council.

But this will not work. The Russians and Chinese are already sending signals that they will allow Iran to endlessly drag out the process. Even if we do get sanctions imposed on Iran, they will undoubtedly be weak. And even if they are strong, the mullahs will not give up the glory and dominion (especially over the Arabs) that come with the bomb in exchange for a mess of pottage.

Realistically speaking, the point of this multilateral exercise cannot be to stop Iran's nuclear program by diplomacy. That has always been a fantasy. It will take military means. There would be terrible consequences from an attack. These must be weighed against the terrible consequences of allowing an openly apocalyptic Iranian leadership to acquire weapons of genocide.

The point of the current elaborate exercise in multilateral diplomacy is to slightly alter that future calculation. By demonstrating extraordinary forbearance and accommodation, perhaps we will have purchased the acquiescence of our closest allies -- Britain, Germany and, yes, France -- to a military strike on that fateful day when diplomacy has run its course.

[EstimatedProphet]

1. Let me guess-there will be a mushroom cloud of American cities

[TheFarseer]

2. doesn't this remind him of anything? n/t

[seemslikeadream]

3. Upper Westside liberals

"The only people who think this wasn't a victory are Upper Westside
liberals, and a few people here in Washington." (Charles Krauthammer,
Inside Washington, WUSA-TV, 4/19/03)

[orwell]

4. Dr. K...

...is projecting again.

Time for his meds...

[Vinnie From Indy]

5. Dr K is insane

He habitually identifies mental illness in Dems he has never met and his unfailing bloodthirsty propositions indicate that he is a psychopath.