President George W. Bush may not have learned anything from the egregious mistakes his Administration made in planning and executing its war against Iraq. But he appears to have been sufficiently chastened by them to heed his Daddy’s advice to build an unassailable coalition and secure unambiguous UN authorization before attacking his next axis-of-evil target: Iran. (Recall that Daddy [George H.W.] Bush won universal acclaim for leading a bona fide coalition of the willing to liberate Kuwait from Saddam Hussein in 1991….)
We will not be delivering the fuel until you comply with the United Nations Security Council resolution….We have certain concerns over the Iranian nuclear
program. [Vitaly Churkin, Russia’s chief envoy to the Council]
Accordingly, it’s déjà vu all over again. Because Bush is emulating his Daddy by working diplomatic channels to enlist nation after nation, including major European powers and Russia, in his efforts to get the UN to impose increasingly onerous sanctions against Iran for refusing to freeze uranium enrichment. Meanwhile, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is emulating Saddam by not only showing utter contempt for those sanctions but also declaring that Iran’s nuclear program is unstoppable:
They get together, talk and create propaganda and psychological war….But we laugh at them. They call us and say that crisis is on the way, but we believe that the enemy has a crisis and we have no crisis in our country. Our people are brave. [President Ahmadinejad ridiculing UN debate on sanctions against his country]
But to ensure that he conveys his defiance beyond all reasonable doubt, Ahmadinejad seems even willing to go where Saddam feared to tread. Because last week he demanded – and the U.S. was obliged to grant – a visa to fly to New York to attend the ongoing UN debate. But instead of seeking a reprieve, Ahmadinejad is expected to only heighten the spectre of military confrontation over his nuclear program by challenging delegates – especially those from developing nations – to declare whether they are with him or against him.
By contrast, Bush is demonstrating uncharacteristic statesmanship these days. In fact, even his most devoted critics must concede that he showed impressive form in this respect during his recent 5-day (I-feel-your-pain) tour of Latin America. Never mind that even a bull in a China shop would seem diplomatic compared to Bush’s arch nemeses: the Frick-and-Frack court jesters of international politics, Ahmadinejad and Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.
Nevertheless, I fear that the political path that led Daddy Bush inexorably to military confrontation with Saddam – despite diplomatic efforts that were worthy of a Nobel Peace Prize – is now being laid to lead baby Bush to military confrontation with Ahmadinejad.
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Iran keeps on nuking and tells the UN to go to hell…
Bush debates Ahmadinejad & Chavez at the UN
Iran nuclear program, United Nations
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