Ready for the new set of lies
The only problem with Gordon Brown's posturing is that Iran has not threatened Israel in any way.Ahmadinejad did not say Israel should be wiped from the map. I'm pretty sure Brown is aware of this. He's not a complete idiot (although he has been a deeply unimpressive prime minister). Ahmadinejad said a day would come when Israel would not exist in its present form, disappearing as the Soviet Union disappeared. Now, clearly, Ahmadinejad would like to see that day, but I think it's fair to say that Israel would like to see the day on which Iran is no longer a theocracy. America openly agitates for that day. So who is being threatened?
So why is Brown doing this? The reason is simple, I think, but it's not good. He intends to back the American action that is imminent. He thinks he can get away with "they threatened Israel's very existence so it's fine to bomb them" as his defence when it's Iran's turn to have its citizens murdered by the US and/or Israel.
Careful readers of this blog know that I oppose Iran's acquisition of nuclear weapons, and would reluctantly support action to prevent it. Honestly though, that's as much because I feel that destroying a couple of nuclear facilities will cause far fewer deaths than Israel's provoking a nuclear conflict with Iran, which would be all too possible, as it is because I fear that Iran would use nukes. It's also because I fear that Iran is unstable enough that "loose nukes" become a real possibility. It's bad enough that the former Soviet Union has them floating around, and terrible that Pakistan has them.
But Iran is not close, and I don't think it's likely to get close. There remains only one nuclear power in the Middle East.
posted by Dr Zen @ 2:10 pm
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