DOES NOT COMPUTE

Diplomacy has failed and the choice is clear (Michael Costello, The Australian, January 20th, 2006)

The world will either have to accept an Iran with nuclear weapons or it will have to use force to destroy its capability.

It may well be that the right judgment is that, given the high risks of military action, we should accept a nuclear Iran, seek to contain it and hope its extremism will moderate over time. But the point of this stark statement of alternatives is that the debate on Iraq's nuclear activities should put aside wishful thinking.

Diplomacy has not worked and will not work. [...]

All in all, a terrifying mess.

Perhaps someone will now listen to the head of the IAEA, Mohamed ElBaradei, who has every reason to dislike the Americans. ElBaradei has reminded everyone of Iran's record of cheating on IAEA safeguards. He said he could not confirm Iran's programs were peaceful. He said it was possible that "they are really not very far - a few months - from a weapon".

"Diplomacy has to be backed by pressure and in extreme cases by force," he said.

So there it is. The threat may be a few years away or it may be a few months away. The choice is hard on the world, and above all on Israel. Acceptance or force: either way dreadful. But inaction, pretending diplomacy is another option, is in practice a choice for acceptance. So let's not fool ourselves. Choose.

It will be depressing to watch the mental and intellectual hoops Western elites will jump through in the coming months to deny this reality.