The New York Times: "Dangerous Tension With Iran"

Andrew Rosenthal, editorial page editor of The New York Times and son of former New York Times executive editor A.M. Rosenthal, has long since demonstrated that he will never measure up to his father. The bigger problem is that Andrew Rosenthal oversees the editorial board of The New York Times, whose opinions of late bring new meaning to the word "bovinity." Their latest editorial, "Dangerous Tension With Iran" (http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/13/opinion/dangerous-tension-with-iran.html?_r=2&hp), is a case in point.

The editorial board of The Times writes:

"Many officials, experts and commentators increasingly expect some kind of military confrontation. No one should want to see Iran, with its contempt for international law, acquire a nuclear weapon. But a military strike on the nuclear facilities would be a disaster.

We don’t know whether any mix of sanctions and inducements could persuade Tehran to abandon its nuclear ambitions. There is another option besides force: negotiations with the United States and other major powers over curbing Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for ending sanctions and diplomatic isolation. Iran’s fractured leadership so far has not committed to serious talks, but President Obama and his allies have not paid enough attention to that alternative."

Sure, no one wants Iran to acquire nuclear weapons, and a military strike on Iranian nuclear facilities would be a disaster, particularly for Iran, but what else is new?

The New York Times would have us believe that the negotiations option remains open. Oh really? Obama has been trying to bring Iran to the negotiating table since his 2009 Nowruz (new year's) greetings, which were coupled with "a promise of a new beginning." In fact, Obama's diplomatic overtures to the constituent nations of Bush's "Axis of Evil" comprised the sine qua non of the new president's foreign policy:



The editorial concludes:

"The Iranians need to know that the economic pressure will not let up until they stop the nuclear program."

The editorial board of The Times sincerely believes that Iran has not taken into account that the economic pressure will not let up? I've got news for Andrew Rosenthal and his crew: Iran knows, but they want the bomb, they're willing to suffer for it, and negotiations will be used to stall for time. For Iran, and also for Saudi Arabia, it's a regional and world game changer.

C'est tout.