Everett, Wash.
Published: Wednesday, December 5, 2007

Welcome the chance to back off Iran threats

 In October, President Bush said, "I've told people that if you're interested in avoiding World War III, it seems like you ought to be interested in preventing them (Iran) from having the knowledge necessary to make a nuclear weapon."

The comment startled some American allies, and many Americans.

This week it was revealed, in an intelligence report representing the consensus of all U.S. spy agencies, that Tehran halted its nuclear weapons program four years ago. This is good news. It's also troubling news, however, that the federal government was unaware of this intelligence. Additionally troubling is Bush's assertion that the revelation that Iran's nuclear program is defunct, rather than defacto, does not change his pressure-packed position toward the country even one little bit.

President Bush told a news conference that Iran continues to produce enriched uranium that could be transferred to a secret weapons program.

"So, I view this report as a warning signal that they had the program, they halted the program. And the reason why it's a warning signal is that they could restart it," Bush said.

In November, when the prospect of Iran's nuclear program was being sold hard to Americans, a poll showed a majority opposed U.S. military action against Iran. Sixty-three percent oppose airstrikes on Iran, while 73 percent oppose using ground troops in that country, the poll found.

This strong opposition existed before the news that Iran's nuclear program was mothballed four years ago. What would it be today? Regardless, Bush refuses to rule out possible military action against Iran for its nuclear ambitions while insisting that diplomacy is the first option.

No one is interpreting the news, as Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice feared, as a reason to conclude, "Oh, well, then we don't need to worry about what the Iranians are doing."

It is this black and white thinking of the Bush Administration that has alienated so many citizens.

Of course the U.S. and its allies continue to monitor Iran. And perhaps watch it a little more closely, so we know things such as the status of its nuclear program. But Bush's World War III saber-rattling only makes the situation worse, which his critics would say is his goal. With the immediate specter of Iran's nuclear weaponry dispensed with, it's time for a position change, and nuanced talks, not more threats.





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