Last night, I attended a dinner at which Vice President Cheney spoke. He was warm and gracious, intelligent and articulate. After his prepared remarks, he took some questions. My hand shot up, and he called on me. "Mr. Vice President," I began. "Given Iran's continued defiance on their nuclear program, and given their continued support for terror, especially what they are doing in Iraq, is the administration prepared to take more aggressive action with regard to Tehran?" My question got some applause, and the vice president nodded to me and smiled. And then he said, "All options are on the table." He went on to talk about the diplomatic process and holding the military option as the last available one, but he made clear that the president would do what was needed to prevent Iran from becoming a nuclear power.
It may already be too late. The Iranians have had a clandestine nuclear program for over 20 years, and it isn't about lighting the houses in Tehran. I suppose the answer the vice president gave me was the only one he could publicly give: all options ARE on the table. But if the administration isn't ready to press Iran to the wall yet, then there are other things we should be doing. Giving the Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, a visa to come to New York next week so he can thumb his nose at the United Nations AND the United States is not one of them. He loves to taunt the world's only superpower, threaten to wipe one of our closest allies off the map, and make fun of our unwillingness to do anything about it. We shouldn't be giving him the UN stage on which to continue this burlesque.
If the administration isn't prepared yet to take him on militarily, then the least they should be doing is taking him on personally. It's too late on the visa issue: it's already been granted and he's coming. But this administration needs to stop the self-flagellation, stop fighting a gentleman's war, stop apologizing for being tough on radical Islam and the regimes that are driven by it, and stop hoping the Iranians (and North Koreans) will see reason and voluntarily drop their nuclear programs.
Unless we open our eyes, the only thing that's going to be dropped is one of their nuclear weapons---on us.
paranoia me destroya!
Posted by: Tim D | March 20, 2007 at 08:02 PM
The UN has relegated its original chartered mission to be a global peacemaker and controlling world force to what is now a "laughing stock" by disrespectful and barbaric leaders of some rogue nations. With IRAN, we are seeing a repeat of Saddam Hussein's failure to honor signed UN Resolutions, and what is the UN doing about it? Nothing! Unfortunately, the USA and a some other honorable countries are left to do the UN's work. Why? I'll tell you why. Because the people of civil nations do not want to give up this personal freedom that our forefathers espoused and fought for. We owe it to generations that will follow to be strong and always support "good" over "evil", otherwise, our children and our children's children will lose this freedom.
Posted by: normplatt | March 21, 2007 at 11:52 AM
Only the windbags of Congress can hold a slightly brighter candle when it comes to actually doing anything, compared to the UN. I know few who respect the UN. If honorary "Wind Bag Master's Degrees" were given to organizations they would earn Summa Cum Laude.
Having said that, I am in favor of having the likes of Iran's munchkin leader put his lies on public record. Let them in to talk. Talk with them, just enough to be able to share the documented lies with the liberals when the weapons are discovered. JMP
Posted by: james | March 21, 2007 at 04:13 PM