By Brett Stephens,Wall Street Journal
Obama’s do nothing policy towards Iran is forcing Israel’s hand
Events are fast pushing Israel toward a pre-emptive military strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities,probably by next spring. That strike could well fail. Or it could succeed at the price of oil at $300 a barrel,a Middle East war,and American servicemen caught in between. So why is the Obama administration doing everything it can to speed the war process along?
At July’s G-8 summit in Italy,Iran was given a September deadline to start negotiations over its nuclear programs. Last week,Iran gave its answer:No.
Instead,what Tehran offered was a five-page document that was the diplomatic equivalent of a giant kiss-off. It begins by lamenting the "ungodly ways of thinking prevailing in global relations"and proceeds to offer comprehensive talks on a variety of subjects:democracy,human rights,disarmament,terrorism,"respect for the rights of nations,"and other areas where Iran is a paragon. Conspicuously absent from the document is any mention of Iran’s nuclear program,now at the so-called breakout point,which both Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his boss Ali Khamenei insist is not up for discussion.
What’s an American president to do in the face of this nonstarter of a document? What else,but pretend it isn’t a nonstarter. Talks begin Oct. 1.