Dicey

This cartoon was inspired by a Robert Tracinski comment in yesterday's TIA Daily:

Over the weekend, Condoleezza Rice rejected a bogus Iranian offer for international inspections, saying that the Iranians are "playing games." They sure are, but they're playing the game we started: the charade of trying to establish the basis for war by going through a United Nations Security Council that is sympathetic to dictatorships and hostile to the US.

This is the same charade we played before the invasion of Iraq, and as with that game, the slowdown will only help our enemies, while carrying the real risk that the US will cleverly box itself into a diplomatic corner, permanently stalling our efforts to stop Iran.

From FoxNews on Sunday: Rice: Iran 'Playing Games' in Dispute Over Nukes.

The United States rejects Iran's offer to allow a watchdog agency to inspect the country's nuclear facilities and will press ahead for U.N. penalties against Tehran, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Sunday.

"They've had plenty of time to cooperate. I think they're playing games," Rice said.

Iran on Saturday offered to allow inspections to resume if the Security Council turned over the dispute to the U.N. nuclear monitor, the International Atomic Energy Agency.

A report from the IAEA confirmed that Iran had successfully produced enriched uranium and defied the Security Council's Friday deadline to stop the process.

Rice said the offer to resume IAEA inspections suggests the Iranians "are indeed somewhat concerned" about actions the Security Council might take to further isolate Iran.

From FoxNews today: Diplomat: Resolution Could Allow for Sanctions Against Iran.

The U.S. diplomat leading six-nation talks on Iran's nuclear program predicted Tuesday that European governments would prepare a resolution for the U.N. Security Council that could allow for sanctions, and he insisted that diplomatic efforts were not dead.

Meanwhile: Iran Discovers New Uranium Deposits, Continues Enrichment Program.

Iran said Tuesday it had found uranium ore at three new sites in the center of the country, an announcement that appeared designed as a fresh challenge to the drive by the United States and allies to curb Tehran's nuclear program.

Iran already has considerable uranium resources available for its nuclear program, a fact that called into question the importance of the new discoveries — beyond their propaganda value.

"We have got good news: the discovery of new economically viable deposits of uranium in central Iran," Mohammad Ghannadi, deputy chief for nuclear research and technology, told a conference.

Posted by Forkum at May 2, 2006 03:12 PM