I was
at a luncheon Tuesday with Bernard Lewis, the renowned
expert on the Middle East and the author of numerous
books including The Crisis In Islam; the former
Prime Minister of Jordan; and Palestinian Chairman Mahmoud
Abbas' national security advisor, when I heard the news
that the U.S. was offering to supply nuclear techology
to Iran in return for Iran coming back to the negotiating
table. I could hardly believe it was true.
But sure enough, AP
reported that "world powers today gave Iran a package of incentives
that includes U.S. nuclear technology to persuade Tehran to curb its uranium
enrichment program, and the Islamic republic's initial reaction was relatively
upbeat....Diplomats told the Associated Press that the package includes a provision
for the United States to supply Tehran with some nuclear technology if it stops
enriching uranium -- a major concession by Washington."
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"Details of the proposals have not been made public, but an early draft indicated
that if Iran agrees to abandon uranium enrichment, the world would offer it help
in building nuclear reactors, a guaranteed supply of nuclear fuel and European
Airbus aircraft," the AP story continued. "The European offer of light-water
reactors meant for civilian nuclear energy purposes was revealed last month,
but there had been no previous suggestion that the Americans would also agree
to help build Iran's civilian nuclear program if Tehran freezes enrichment
and agrees to negotiations.The United States also reportedly sweetened the
offer
by saying it would lift some bilateral sanctions on Iran, such as a ban on
sales of Boeing passenger aircraft and related parts."
The offer was presented to Iran by European Union foreign policy chief Javier
Solana. "We want to restart a fresh relationship and we want to do
it based on a spirit of trust and respect and confidence. The proposal we bring
along will allow us to get engaged in negotiations based on trust, confidence
and respect," Solana
told Agence
France Presse.
This morning, new and even more worrisome details emerged. The U.S. and E.U.
are apparently offering the Iranians the possibility of continuing to enrich
uranium on their own soil so long as they comply with so-called "stringent
conditions," reports
AFP.
Said one U.S. official: "We are basically now saying that over the long haul,
if they restore confidence, that this Iranian regime can have enrichment at
home. But they have to answer every concern, given all that points to a secret
weapons
program."
"We will see if the Iranians take our offer seriously," said President Bush. "The
choice is theirs to make. I want to solve this issue with Iran diplomatically."
What in the world is President Bush thinking? He has just blinked in his high-stakes
showdown with the Axis of Evil. This new diplomatic gambit represents a catacylsmic
mistake -- and one almost unimaginable by this administration. It suggests that
the White House and State Department are finding it impossible to muster the
necessary international support to isolate and sanction Iran effectively. It
also indicates the President feels he hasn't sufficient political capital to
launch a series of airstrikes against Iran's nuclear facilities. As such, it
telegraphs Americans weakness and will likely embolden the Iranian regime and
the radical jihadist terrorist network connected to Tehran.
I've said it before and did so this morning on John Gambling's show on WABC
radio in New York, but it bears repeating: If Iran is allowed to go nuclear
on President
Bush's watch, this will effectively wipe out overnight all the gains this President
has made thus far in the War on Terror and the Middle East peace process. A
nuclear-armed Iran represents an existential threat to U.S. national security,
and to our allies
such as Israel, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Turkey, not to mention NATO.
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is not interested in negotiations, and he cannot be deterred.
He
is telling colleagues that the end of the world is just two or three years
away, and that the way to hasten the coming of the Islamic Messiah known as
the "Twelfth
Imam" or the "Mahdi" is to launch a global jihad against Christians and Jews.
He and the mullahs around
him must be stopped -- not appeased.
My last novel, The
Ezekiel Option, was about an American President who waits too
long to confront Iran's nuclear ambitions. God forbid this President make the
same mistake. CRO
copyright
2006 Joel C. Rosenberg
