Not filling me with hope

Apparently the head of the IAEA has said that sanctions should not be imposed on Iran. According to the BBC, Mohamed ElBaradei believes that further negotiations should be allowed in order to keep the peace, which would undoubtedly be strained if the West is succesfull and imposes sanctions on Iran.

Well, that might be nice ... if Iran was willing to suspend its nuclear program.

However, the Iranian ambassador to the IAEA, Aliasghar Soltaniyeh, stated definitively that, "We will not, definitely, suspend enrichment," its ambassador to the IAEA, Aliasghar Soltaniyeh, said earlier on Thursday. "

So what is Mr. ElBaradei's plan? As he laid out yesterday, "“The five measures I have outlined – tightening controls, protecting materials, supporting verification, reinvigorating disarmament and strengthening the Security Council – are all necessary and urgent steps,” Mr. ElBaradei told a conference of German dentists in Karlsruhe over the weekend, in an address aptly called “Putting Teeth in the Nuclear Non-Proliferation and Disarmament Regime.”

Now, I used to be a fan of the United Nations. But then there was Somalia. And then Rwanda. And the Balkans. And the pre-9/11 Iraq issue. And the Oil for Food fiasco. Let's not forget that this was the organization that thought it was a good idea to allow Libya and Burma sit on Humans Rights Commission.

So why should I not believe them this time? The UN can only move forward when there is agreement. And the only things that the nations will agree on is the absolute minimum. The U.S. and United Kingdom, and possible France, see Iran as a dangerous country once again under its current leadership. Russia and China see it as a client and a source of opposition to U.S. hegemony over the Persian Gulf region. It would be interesting to see how China views Iran after it starts giving more aid to dissident Muslim groups in China. Or if the Chechens suddenly found that they had a sponsor willing to lend them some plutonium for say a dirty bomb.

Iran has been and continues to be a sponsor of terrorist groups. And by terrorist I mean groups who as primary means of resistance/attack (depending on your view) target civilians deliberately.

Now if only the Iranians were as blinkered as the Iraqis, and put their program in convenient location... this could be dealt with.