Yesterday, the US and its European allies issued this ultimatum to Iran: the latter must stop enriching uranium to 20% U235 (note: everyone agrees that they are not enriching it to weapons grade, which is 90%) and dismantle its underground enrichment plant, with strong hints that the alternative is war.
The problem: neither the US nor, more to the point, Israel is offering to do the same. Since Israel actually has nuclear weapons, and announces over and over again that it wants to bomb Iran, it’s hard to see why it would make sense for Iran to abandon a bomb-resistant facility – unless the quid pro quo is that Israel gets rid of its nuclear weapons.
More broadly, the US cannot reasonably expect any other country to get rid of nuclear weapons, or to refrain from trying to obtain them, unless we adopt a sincere plan to get rid of our own. Without that, these negotiations are not negotiation at all, but attempted dictation. This attempt is bound to fail.
Finally, some common sense. I agree completely. The demands being made on Iran to stop nuclear research are unreasonable and place the United States and NATO allies in the position of world cops who think they can force other sovereign nations to do their bidding. Why Iran and not North Korea, China, Pakistan, or Israel?
It’s an absurd position the US is backing themselves into, and one that, as an American citizen, I find embarrassing and frightening. This is not the will of the American people.