U.S. appoaching Iraq-like nuclear situation with Iran

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http://ljworld.com/section/worldnation/story/178554

 

U.S. approaching Iraq-like nuclear situation with Iran

 

By Warren P. Strobel - Knight Ridder Newspapers

 

Sunday, August 15, 2004

 

Washington Get ready for another crisis over weapons of mass destruction.

 

Convinced that Iran is covertly speeding toward making nuclear weapons, the

Bush administration has begun a diplomatic campaign to sharply increase the

pressure on Tehran.

 

The sudden sense of urgency follows the apparent collapse of a three-nation

European initiative to persuade Iran to freeze its nuclear program. Iran is

trying to renegotiate the deal and insists that its nuclear program is for

civilian energy purposes.

 

The Bush administration faces a fundamental dilemma similar to the one it

faced two years ago in Iraq: Should the United States continue to work with

allies who favor negotiation, or should it take pre-emptive, unilateral action

to

stop Iran?

 

President Bush's go-it-alone course in Iraq continues to draw criticism, both

from foreign allies and many Americans as they prepare to select their next

president. But action to confront Iran may be more necessary than against Iraq,

some officials and private experts argue, because Iran has a far more

advanced nuclear program and much closer ties to terrorist groups than Iraq did

in

2003.

 

Concerns about Iran's nuclear ambitions have bubbled for more than a decade,

but they've taken a back seat to Iraq and the war on terrorism. That could

soon change.

 

" Iran is going to be the 800-pound gorilla of American foreign policy come

September, " said a State Department official.

 

A senior European diplomat in Washington agreed. It is " one of the two or

three biggest issues that we'll have to deal with in the next period, " he said.

Both spoke on condition of anonymity, citing diplomatic sensitivities.

 

 

AP Photo

 

Iranian men, at right, and women, on the left, chant slogans during a

demonstration against U.S.-led coalition actions in Iraq, at the Enqelab

(Revolution)

street in Tehran, Iran. The sign at lower left reads, " Bush, wait wait Sunnis

and Shiites will dig your grave. "

 

U.S. officials say they will begin a new push to have Iran's nuclear

activities referred to the United Nations Security Council, which can impose

sanctions. The next crossroads is a mid-September meeting of the International

Atomic

Energy Agency, which has been monitoring Iran's nuclear work.

 

" This is a troubling development ... and you just can't ignore it any

longer, " Secretary of State Colin Powell said recently.

 

A senior administration official went further in an interview last week. He

hinted that if Bush is re-elected, the use of U.S. military force to stop Iran

from going nuclear -- even by overthrowing the government in Tehran --

wouldn't be out of the question.

 

U.S. credibility on Iran, however, has been undercut by the failure to find

the weapons of mass destruction that the White House warned of in Iraq.

 

" This administration has been discredited by the WMD experience " in Iraq,

said Zbigniew Brzezinski, the national security adviser to President Jimmy

Carter.

 

Said another State Department official: " Would it have been better if prewar

Iraq intelligence had been better? Sure. ... But it doesn't mean we're wrong "

on Iran.

-------------------

But gee, where would we get the troops to take on Iran? Oh, yeah - those

100,000 Bush is bringing home from Germany and S. Korea.

 

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