On Iran: President Bush Gets It Right

Yesterday, after a meeting with new German Chancellor Angela Merkel, President Bush made some comments on Iran that clearly demonstrates that on this one issue he clearly understands what the stakes are:
Iran armed with a nuclear weapon poses a grave threat to the security of the world
[...]
The current president of Iran has announced that the destruction of Israel is an important part of their agenda, and that's unacceptable, and the development of a nuclear weapon, it seems to me, would make him a step closer to achieving that objective.The United States, United Kingdom, France, and Germany now all agree that Iran should be referred to the United Nations Security Council. What is not clear is if a resolution with any teeth at all, especially one calling for sanctions in the event of Iranian noncompliance, can be drafted and passed without drawing a veto from Russia or China.

As I reported in my post on January 1 Israeli intelligence believes it will be impossible to stop Iran's nuclear program if concrete action is not taken by March. I think it is unlikely that the Security Council will agree on any sort of military action if Iran ignores a resolution, something Iranian President Ahmadinejad has made clear his country would do:
I tell those superpowers that, with strength and prudence, Iran will pave the way to achieving peaceful nuclear energy. The Iranian nation is not frightened by the powers and their noise.Clearly President Bush doesn't believe Iran's intentions are peaceful. Neither do I.

The main question is whether or not the Europeans will go along with an American-led action this time despite what has happened on Iraq. I can only hope that Prime Minister Blair, President Chirac, and Chancellor Merkel all understand that Iran is not Iraq and there is no doubt about the threat posed in this case. The more unified the action, the broader the coalition, the less the likelihood of serious retaliation or an escalation into a larger regional war.

Technorati Tags: iran foreign policy israel nuclear proliferation security council middle east un united nations