The best way to build concensus at the UN

Submitted by Sully (United States), May 14, 2006 at 01:57

The best way to build concensus among the powers that matter at the UN is for the U.S. to quietly let it be known that we do not intend to take action to stop the Iranian nuclear effort unless we ourselves are attacked or we come to the clear conclusion that an actual attack on us is imminent. At the same time we should be quietly urging Israel to embark on a thorough program of shelter building, something which Israel should have been doing, on the Swiss model, for years because it is only a matter of time until one of the rabid states or non-state actors in the Middle East gets nuclear weapons.

The other powers are confident that the U.S. will step in and stop Iran from getting weapons with which it can dominate the Gulf and thus the oil. As long as the other powers have that confidence they can profitably play their spoiler role. Once they lose that confidence they will recognize their interest in petitioning us to join a real coalition.

The U.S. is the less dependent on Middle Eastern oil and Middle Eastern stability than the other powers; and furthermore we are much farther from the threat and much more capable of defending against the threat than the other powers.

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