06 December 2006

Quote of the Day

When asked Tuesday when he expected Russia and China to begin supporting the resolution, the American participant in the discussions, Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns, replied: "This afternoon would be a good time."

The U.S. and France were hoping Tuesday's closed-door talks in Paris would finally produce a resolution imposing sanctions on Iran for defying an Aug. 31 U.N. deadline to halt enrichment.

The discussions now move to the United Nations in New York.

Mort Zuckerman in U.S. News & World Report:
Some say we should accept that Iran will become a nuclear power and seek consolation in the doctrine of mutual deterrence that worked in the Cold War. Such advice fails to account for the vehemence of the religious and ideological fanaticism that motivates Iran.
(...)
The fundamental assumption of mutual deterrence – that both sides value their lives – simply doesn't apply here.
( ... )
The West will have to decide what is more dangerous – to attack the infrastructure of the Iranians sooner rather than later or to deal with an Iranian nuclear capability after the fact. The choices are not between good and bad but between bad and worse – and the longer we delay, the more dire those bad and worse choices will become.

Somebody remind me again when these talks started?

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