Voice of America News has just reported that "Iran has failed to accept a United Nations-backed
proposal for uranium enrichment and has instead offered its own
counter-proposal." Is there anyone involved on either side of the negotiation that is even remotely surprised by this? Good question.
The offer that was on the table was designed to remove Iran's supply of uranium from the country and, in return, ship them uranium in a form that could only be used for medical purposes, i.e., nuclear medicine. This would have minimized the threat of Iran using their nuclear plants for non-peaceful purposes. Instead, Iran has responded that they will go ahead and keep their own uranium, thank you very much, and when they need uranium for nuclear medicine, they will simply buy it from other nations.
Their counter, obviously, defeats the purpose of the whole negotiation, which was to persuade Iran to give up the pursuit of nuclear technology for non-peaceful objectives. But it does more than that: it gives Iran yet another victory in its ongoing war with the world. Their war is not fought with infantry or ships or bombers; it is fought with words. We are not battling over territory, we are battling over time. Every hour of every day that goes by, Iran is working on developing nuclear technology. Every extra minute they gain is a battle won. When the world issues an ultimatum or an edict, Iran can now comply, refuse, or ask for bargaining time. With President Bush, who the Iranians knew would never negotiate, they had only two courses: comply or refuse. So they refused. But with President Obama, who is very open about pursuing dialogue, the Iranians are able to employ the third tactic of "negotiation," which is a victory in itself. This way, they are able to buy themselves more time, which is a victory, and then refuse.
Ahmadinejad's refusal, though, is not presented as such; he is far too masterful for that. It is instead proffered as a "counter-proposal." Bush's administration, and every administration before his that had dealt with the Islamic Republic's regime, understood this game. Obama and his team do not. All Iran is looking for is time, so the best thing they could have ever hoped for in an American administration is someone who would grant them that gift on a unilateral basis while seeking absolutely nothing in return. President Obama is the answer to their prayers. He is the answer to Vladimir Putin's prayers in his similarly unilateral action to expose Eastern Europe to Russia's sphere of influence rather than extending our future missile shield to protect them.
Obama is bending over backward to accomodate Russia, Iran, Wall Street chieftains, and others who really don't need or deserve our assistance. At what point will the whole of America earn, or shall I say "be entitled to," his good graces? Good question.
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