War dance

As in 2002, time has come for the US to question anything  related to the UN attempts to prevent another illigal war, this time with Iran. And, as before an unprovoked attack on Iraq, the players are the same: Chief of IAEA Mohamed ElBaradei and the State Department. My deep concern is that the undermining of the UN is a clear sign that the preparation for another war has reached the implementation stage. 

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has attacked the head of the UN nuclear watchdog for urging caution in the dispute over Iran’s nuclear program. She said diplomacy was best left to diplomats, not a technical body such as the International Atomic Energy Agency.  The criticism came after IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei said force should be a last resort in the Iran dispute. He dismissed talk of military action in Iran as “hype” and urged people not to forget the lessons of war in Iraq.  

Ms Rice maintained that “all options” were on the table to resolve the stand-off over Iran’s refusal to end its uranium-enrichment work.

With usual posturing and arrogance characteristicof  Bush administration, Rice made the following statement:“It is not up to anybody to diminish or to begin to cut back on the obligations that the Iranians have been ordered to take…The US was committed to a diplomatic resolution but diplomacy had to have “a set of teeth” and incentives to work”  

She added a warning: “The IAEA is not in the business of diplomacy. The IAEA is a technical agency that has a board of governors of which the United States is a member,”

 Ms Rice made the comments while travelling (where else?) but to Israel in another failing attempt to restart Middle East peace talks. Iran denies it is trying to acquire nuclear weapons, insisting it wants nuclear power to generate electricity for civilian use. 

Mr ElBaradei won the 2005 Nobel peace prize for his work with the IAEA to prevent nuclear energy being used for military purposes.

 Are the American people falling for this one? Or do we even matter?