Letters
Obama has to take tough line on Iran
19 February 2009
Dear Sir
Last week President Obama received an Iranian answer to his Presidential overtures – though hardly the one he expected. Instead of unclenching his fists, Iran’s bellicose President delivered the diplomatic equivalent of a sucker punch. In a belligerent speech, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad demanded far reaching and humiliating American concessions before the resumption of normal relations. America had to apologize for its ‘crimes’ against the Arab world, withdraw its forces into US borders and stop supporting ‘Zionists, outlaws and criminals.’
For good measure, he declared that Iran would never give up its quest for nuclear status. In other words, Iran would end its state of de facto war with the United States only if America colluded in the empowerment of an Islamist terror state that sought regional dominance and the destruction of Israel.
To make matters worse, the International Institute of Strategic Studies released a report estimating that Iran could soon have enough low-enriched enriched uranium to produce fissile material for one nuclear weapon. Lest we forget, were Iran to join the atomic club, it could bully neighbouring states and further destabilize the region by providing nuclear know how to its terrorist proxies, Hamas and Hezbullah. We all know which nation would be their prize target.
Of course, there is something to be said for tough minded diplomacy in intractable conflicts; hence the repeated emphasis on ‘soft power.’ But facing an implacable enemy with an insatiable appetite for nuclear weapons, Obama would do well to remember that power must sometimes be hard as well as soft.
Yours sincerely
Jeremy Havardi
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