Saturday, March 31, 2007

Unbelievable...

...that some people never learn the lessons of history, but far from unexpected.

The Times of London ran an interesting story today. Here's the meat of it:

European foreign ministers failed last night to back Britain in a threat to freeze the €14 billion trade in exports to Iran, as the hostage crisis descended into a propaganda circus.

....

EU foreign ministers meeting in Germany called for the sailors to be freed but ruled out any tightening of lucrative export credit rules. The EU is Iran’s biggest trading partner. British officials are understood to have taken soundings on economic sanctions before the meeting but found few takers.

France, Iran’s second-largest EU trading partner, cautioned that further confrontation should be avoided. The Dutch said it was important not to risk a breakdown in dialogue.


Okay, I'd expect this from the French. They have a long history of profiting from trading with people who then overrun their country, followed by appeals to other nations -- mainly the USA -- to bail their butts out of trouble.

And perhaps the Dutch have forgotten some hard-learned lessons from the 1940s.

Similar motives of financial gain -- combined with growing Soviet-era attitudes toward the USA -- led Russia to torpedo meaningful action against Iran at the UN.*

Much as "peace-loving" Americans and Brits may dislike the idea, we are getting closer by the moment to the day when we will have to go up against Iran militarily.

My hope is that we will make the war short and decisive. I'm not sure Bush, Congress, Blair and Parliament know how to do that. In fact, I'm pretty sure they can't do it. They'd better learn, pronto.

We need to learn from France's example what happens when you talk and talk and talk to an enemy that doesn't listen.


*If one assumes -- mistakenly -- that the UN is capable of any meaningful action, that is.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I read an article this morning stating that those sailors may be put on trial?!!!!
What, do these Iranians WANT war? What are they thinking? I mean, if they put them on trial, is Britain just going to sit there idly and do nothing about it, considering the likely outcome of the trial? What are Iran's "laws" concerning this, and persons found guilty? Death penalty? Likely.

If the U.S. did go to war against Iran, well, war is war, and innocents get killed in war, that's the way it's been since the dawn of time. Simply because the media is now there, on-site, showing such things doesn't change the ugly face of war. People die, that's what HAPPENS in war. And not just military, civilians die, there is nothing to be done about it.

If we were to go against Iran and pull the same crap we did in Iraq - I won't support such a war. Go in, make a very decisive statement, to the point of humiliation, and get OUT. Destroy their uranium enriching plants, and whatever else is involved with the possible creation of nuclear weapons, get it done, don't leave us in there.
I'm not against war, but I don't really like the idea of war without other nations getting involved whether they like us or not. They have just as much to lose as we do if Iran truly is developing weapons of mass destruction.

John0 Juanderlust said...

So much for Brittain's EU allies.
Can't turn down the money. Although sanctions are a game.

Anonymous said...

The EU is definite NOT united. It's every man for himself. What a joke!

I'll put $5 on Israel going into Iran and doing us all a favor by taking them out, at least their nuclear capacity. Rumor is the US has been negotiating on behalf of Israel with Saudi Arabia for overflight rights to Iran. Sounds illogical at first, considering how much SA hates Israel, but SA (Sunni) is petrified of a nuclear armed Iran (Shia). Strange bedfellows, but it could be good for both of them....for all of us.