EDITORIAL: Iran's upper hand

I must say this is the most blatant attempt of late to milk the Holocaust. The Holocaust is why the civilized world looks away as Israel role plays in Palestine, the Holocaust is why western nations must arm and subsidizes Israel's conventional and conventional 'defence' forces. And now the Holocaust is why Germany must cripple her economy and surrender market share to her Chinese rivals. The Holocaust was horrible, a cruelty on par with the Armenian genocide and the Tutsi Genocide in Rwanda. Germany paid her price for her excesses in national destruction, partition and occupation and yet it doesn't seem enough. I begin to wonder if it will ever be enough. What sin burdens a German worker, such that even if he or she is born a generation or two after the crimes of his/her forefathers, that he/she must still fore go his/her job, economic livelihood, as atonement. And all of this just to punish one of Israel's regional rivals. Is it not time to stop using the Holocaust as a credit card from which to charge against Germany's economy? At what point does it shame a people to drag the corpses of their ancestors out as 'marketing' to elicit a donation derived from the labours of another. Some advice, stop threatening Iran with Nuclear Weapons, imminent attacks and similar provocations and perhaps they will not need to develop a deterrent to respond in kind.

What a one sided article! Is this an editorial? It looks like pure propaganda to me! I am sure those who read it have brains and see the truth for themselves.

Iran has said from the beginning that they are building nuclear power for "peaceful" purposes. Why then Project 111? The first test of a nuclear weapon will tell truth, just like Pakistan. But then, it will be too late for the truth.

The bottom line is that Iran is not in a position to threaten Europe, even if you were to buy into the less than credible proposition that it would have motive to do so. The Mullahs who actually control the Iranian military have no intention of inviting utter devastation of their country at the hands of France and the US in return for inflicting a pinprick on Greece or Slovenia (The only EU countries credibly within range of Iran). As for Israel, the Mullahs are not into committing Hari-Kiri at the hands of their fellow non-signatory of the Non-Poliferation Treaty. In any case, Israel is quite capable of looking after itself and can hardly expect the West to accept responsibility for its security so long as Israel rejects all entreaties to stop stealing Palestinian property and rejects NATO or EU peacekeepers on the basis that their presence would be inimicable to the land-grab and their behaviour in the occupied territories. The incoming administration has concluded that what the Iranians are after is fireproofing themselves against attack from Israel and the US. Understandably, the neo-cons don't want to provide any such assurances - even in return for Iran dropping its nuclear programme. Their objective is the destruction of the (conventional and otherwise) military power of potential Israeli adversaries. The US and EU have no vital interest in destroying Arab and Iranian societies or military capability so long as the latter poses no threat. Both have concluded that US and EU interests are best served by a negotiated settlement garranteeing Iranian security in return for independently verified discontinuance of its military nuclear programme. They have also concluded that an end to the Israeli land-grab and the establishment of a viable Palestine is a prequisite to defusing the alienation between the Western and Moslem worlds which is doing so much damage to both.

As Reagan so wittily and eloquently put it to Carter, "There you [read, petemurray] go again." For starters, you have no meaningful idea what Iran is or is not in a position to do. Neither was Obama, until he was elected, and began receiving the PDB (that is "presidential daily briefing"), sometimes also called DPB. I have a question for you--rhetorical, since I already know the answer--why do you even read columns in The Washington Times? Clearly you share not one iota of perspective and philosophy with its editors and contributors, to say nothing of the vast majority of its readers and subscribers. However, I encourage you to continue your ranting and name-calling (as in others of your posted comments), as you do conservatives a great service by further revealing the agenda of the ultra-liberals. Thereby, you help to solidify conservatives in their convictions, and strengthen our commitment to preserving the true rights of Americans, as delineated in the Constitution. In that spirit, keep it coming petemurray.

Why is the authors name for this "editorial" nowhere to be found? I think any intelligent person can figure that out on his own. In this Kafkaesque age everything is stood on its head--the champion violator of international law and sovereignty and the territorial integrity of states is gung ho for respecting state sovereignty and territorial integrity (of Georgia, but not Pakistan); primary terrorist and ethnic cleansing states (the United States and Israel) invade, bomb, and torture, but wax indignant at retail terrorism that flows largely in response to their wholesale terror; and these same two states, brimming over with nuclear arms and increasingly threatening to use them, are aghast that Iran might want and someday be able to make a nuclear weapon.

Very well said jsyantiss. A couple of the comments below sicken me.

"I have a question for you--rhetorical, since I already know the answer--why do you even read columns in The Washington Times? Clearly you share not one iota of perspective and philosophy with its editors and contributors" What utter bilge. Have more foolish words been scribbled in ink or electrons. Should we all sit in the pews of our congregations and read and listen only to those statements that we agree with wholeheartedly? In this mindset is captured the gestalt of the failures of the presidency of the Bush the minor. 911, Iraq, Afghanistan, Katrina, Lebanon, North Korea, Iran, Georgia, etc... ad nauseum. Inbred thoughts never given the opportunity to stand in the light of rational discourse before they are hastily pressed into rash actions.