The Game continues on...

Hat tip to Cox and Forkum for the cartoon. You can read their related commentary and links HERE.

The hope is, that if we (the west) offer incentives to Iran (like a "carrot") we can keep them from developing the capability of making atomic weapons. But as this cartoon illustrates, we pin so much hope on gaining the cooperation of the Iranian theocracy, that it enables Iran to use that hope as the "carrot" to manipulate us.

Europe doesn't have the will to stand up to Iran, and it seems we are following the European model for dealing with Iran...


In an interview with the German Magazine Der Spiegel, Ahmadinejad talked about the "special relationship" Iran has with Europe, and how he believes it is in Europe's best interest to forgo close ties with the U.S., infavor of Iran, because Iran can do so much more for Europe than the U.S. can.

Tammy Bruce recently suggested that the reason Europe helped broker a cease-fire between Israel and Hezbollah was because Israel was winning, and Iran wanted more time to re-group and build up Hezbollah. She also suggests that money went from Iran into certain people's pockets in the European Union, to help this to happen. It's not a stretch, when you consider how certain Europeans were involved in kick-backs in the U.N.'s Oil-for-Food scandal. It would also explain why the Europeans brokered the cease-fire, but will not supply significant troops to support or enforce it. Tammy believes that is because they never intended to support it.


Thomas Sowell writes about the kind of world we will be letting ourselves in for if we allow nukes to fall into the hands of terrorists:

Point of No Return?

... Fanatics filled with hate cannot be either deterred or bought off, whether Hezbollah, Hamas or the government of Iran.

The endlessly futile efforts to bring peace to the Middle East with concessions fundamentally misconceive what forces are at work.

Hate and humiliation are key forces that cannot be bought off by "trading land for peace," by a "Palestinian homeland" or by other such concessions that might have worked in other times and places.

Humiliation and hate go together. Why humiliation? Because a once-proud, dynamic culture in the forefront of world civilizations, and still carrying a message of their own superiority to "infidels" today, is painfully visible to the whole world as a poverty-stricken and backward region, lagging far behind in virtually every field of human endeavor.

There is no way that they can catch up in a hundred years, even if the rest of the world stands still. And they are not going to wait a hundred years to vent their resentments and frustrations at the humiliating position in which they find themselves.

Israel's very existence as a modern, prosperous western nation in their midst is a daily slap across the face. Nothing is easier for demagogues than to blame Israel, the United States, or western civilization in general for their own lagging position.

Hitler was able to rouse similar resentments and fanaticism in Germany under conditions not nearly as dire as those in most Middle East countries today. The proof of similar demagogic success in the Middle East is all around.

What kind of people provide a market for videotaped beheadings of innocent hostages? What kind of people would throw an old man in a wheelchair off a cruise liner into the sea, simply because he was Jewish? What kind of people would fly planes into buildings to vent their hate at the cost of their own lives?

These are the kinds of people we are talking about getting nuclear weapons. And what of ourselves?

Do we understand that the world will never be the same after hate-filled fanatics gain the ability to wipe whole American cities off the face of the earth? Do we still imagine that they can be bought off, as Israel was urged to buy them off with "land for peace" -- a peace that has proved to be wholly illusory?...

(bold emphasis mine) It was hard to choose and excerpt from this, the whole thing is very good, not long but worth reading - as usual, he gets to the point quickly, and talks about the things nobody in the MSM seems to want to talk about.




Here is an article Pat had posted a link to on Monday, I didn't see it in time to include it in my Ahmadinejad Aug 22nd post, and I was too busy yesterday to blog. I wish I had included it, as a good counter-balance viewpoint:

August 22: Tuesday, Not Doomsday

There was one thing that was said in the article, that I think is still relevant now. A high level source in the Israeli government is reported to have said about Iran:

“...They are supposed to give answers to the US about the nuclear program on that date. They will probably say they want nuclear power for legitimate reasons and will buy themselves another six, nine, or twelve months by doing so. Then, eventually, Iran will acquire nuclear weapons and Ahmadinejad will then say 'Look, I already have it. Go on and do what you want to do.'”

(bold emphasis mine) I expect this is what will happen, if things continue as they are. Remember the Islamic Concept of Al-Taqiyah, whereby it is perfectly acceptable to lie to infidels? Iran is ruled by a fanatical Islamic sect, who are very familiar with Al-Taqiyah, and I don't doubt they practice it. They can say anything, agree to anything,to buy time for themselves; once they have the bomb, nothing they agreed to will matter. Then we will be facing the scenario Thomas Sowell outlines so well above.



Related Link:

Totten: "Warmongers Ask for More"

The Arab bar for military victory is set so low that anything short of annihilation is considered a “win” by fools who start doomed-to-fail wars. There is no such thing as a partial defeat, a standstill, or even a Pyrrhic victory.

So Hezbollah, Syria, and Iran are gearing up to go another “victorious” round...

See the full post by Pat for some more embedded links.