Victor Davis Hanson: Tweaking the United States

JewishWorldReview.com ^ | January 5, 2006 | Victor Davis Hanson

[Tolik]

As the Iranian nuclear threat continues to grow, neither the United States nor Israel are eager to be damned by the global community for sending in bombers to take out Tehran's dispersed and hard-to-find subterranean nuclear factories. Meanwhile, European diplomats will fail in their milquetoast efforts to bribe the Iranian mullahs to forgo nukes. And a peaceful revolution that leads to a new Iranian democracy renouncing such weapons remains a utopian dream.

So, the practical and, realistically, best solution to thwarting Iran's nuclear-weapon ambitions would be for the Russians to cease selling the Iranians nuclear technology. They could demand – not just suggest – that all uranium enrichment for "peaceful" energy use be done inside Russia.

Yet for all their talk, the Russians will not do this. Besides the profits to be had from trading with the oil-rich theocracy, the Russians derive a certain satisfaction from tweaking the United States. After the fall of the Soviet Union, and the loss of global influence, the Russians gain at least psychic satisfaction knowing that the Iranians are a thorn in the U.S.'s side. Moscow enjoys observing that Washington doesn't always get its way – and may find itself overwhelmed with a nuclear enemy on the doorstep of the newly democratic Iraq.

China plays the same spoiler role in regard to North Korea. Ostensibly, it has no desire to see Kim Jong-il with a nuclear arsenal on its already unstable border. But the Chinese apparently see advantages in allowing a renegade regime to drive their rivals crazy, especially Japan, Taiwan and the United States.

<...snip...>

[Tolik]

    Victor Davis Hanson Ping ! 

       Let me know if you want in or out.

Links: FR Index of his articles:  http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=victordavishanson 
His website: http://victorhanson.com/     NRO archive: http://www.nationalreview.com/hanson/hanson-archive.asp

[rhombus]

Finally, we can be far more quiet abroad about our intentions while carrying an even bigger stick. In other words, wrinkle our brow, bite our lip and praise the United Nations and multilateralism to the skies publicly – while acknowledging that ultimately only the American military can keep the United States safe

Probably good advice but extremely hard to stomach.

[DustyMoment]

neither the United States nor Israel are eager to be damned by the global community for sending in bombers to take out Tehran's dispersed and hard-to-find subterranean nuclear factories.

Frankly, I could give a crap less about the global community. They already hate Israel and the US, what would taking out Iran's nuke facilities do - make them hate us more??

If memory serves, respecting the global community's opinions during the USS Pueblo affair caused our sailors to remain in NK custody for nearly a year because Tricky Dicky wouldn't go in and obliterate a few NK cities as a way to explain to the Koreans that they had done a bad thing by hijacking our ship on the high seas.

So, as arguments go, fear of the global communitity's response doesn't sway me much. I know that isn't the bulk of VDH's argument, it's just the part that leaped out at me. Destroy the nukes, worry about the global community later.

[rightinthemiddle]

ping

[rightinthemiddle]

Thanks for the good ping work, Tolik!

[CBart95]

Perhaps even more infuriating is VDH's continued insistence that this whole business is some sort of myopic one-country-at-a-time affair when his own essays indentify Russia,China, our Middle East allies as well as our lazy assed Euro Trash "friends" all as active players and beneficiaries of the "unpopular war" we are conducting in Iraq and now contemplating rolling out to Iran.

Come on! All of the above and then some are seriously participating in a systematic and deadly process of war and war-like activity aimed directly at us.

Hatred for totally superior economic and military might is an established fact. VDH can rest assured that his occasional schadenfreude is far more widespread among all these players than he coyly admits to.

All of them and many more countries despise the US.

It's a fact of life.

[happyathome]

The alternative is to publicly negotiate bi-lateral agreements with the Iranians and the North Koreans: "Attack the US, Israel, Japan or Taiwan and we'll turn your countries into radioactive wastelands. Do what you want to anyone else." And then sit back and enjoy the Euro trash panic.

Course that isn't very smart in the long term either, but it would give us a lot more near-term schadenfreude than our "friends" are getting at our expense today.

[Tolik]

It's a bit more complicated than "them and many more countries despise the US": huge percentages of their population would like nothing more than move in here. So, it is love-hate-jealousy-schadenfreude-admiration all mixed in together.

Speaking about big guys: Russia, China, Europe: what do you want us to do? We have a deafening screams from a half or more of our own population from engaging one small country in a time, with impatient public almost ready to give up already. I share your frustration but I don't see any open actions being feasible, especially against big guys.

Some behind-the-scene actions is another thing. (Until NY Slimes will expose them too).

[oldbrowser]

Russians, Chinese, Saudi, Euros, the only ones he left off is the Democratic Party.

[freeangel]

As usual, thanks for the ping. VDH bump!