Posted by
Team Turk on Friday, September 29, 2006 6:19:55 PM
Henry Lamb discusses
military hesitation.
No one wants war, but what are the options?
The U.S. could adopt the view that we should take Iranian President Ahmadinejad at his word, and believe that Iran is developing nuclear technology for peaceful purposes only. This policy would certainly win the approval of the international community, as well as the anti-war forces at home. But then, would we not also have to take Ahmadinejad at his word when he says that Israel will be wiped off the map; that the U.S. should bow and surrender to Iran; that there will be cataclysmic events to remove Zionism from the face of the earth?
The U.S. could adopt the view that Ahmadinejad is a masterful liar who publicly proclaims to the U.N., and to the world, that Iran seeks peace - while privately supplying weapons to terrorists in Lebanon and Iraq. Iran is a present threat to peace in Iraq, and Israel. Ahmadinejad's public vows to destroy Israel, and his steadfast refusal to honor the U.N.'s demands to stop enriching uranium present a serious threat to world.
The Bush administration has adopted this latter view; Bush critics want public policy to reflect the former view.