More Mad Mullahs

Brendan Miniter of OpinionJournal.com has a good comment on why the Persian SHOULD abandon nukes, but WON'T.

It was the president, after all, who invested American resources in the task of removing the madman they had next door. It was that madman who waged a vicious war using chemical weapons against Iran in the 1980s and thus helped prompt the mullahs to start developing their own weapons of mass destruction. In different circumstances the Iranian government would be heralding a stable government in Iraq as well as Mr. Bush's leadership.

This is something to keep in mind as Europe's latest diplomatic effort with Iran falls apart in the comming months. These aren't different circumstances. The mullahs are pressing ahead with their nuclear ambitions even as Mr. Bush has removed their claim of self-defense. Iran wants the bomb, even as it no longer has a moral case for developing such a weapon.

It may be true that Saddam Hussein prompted Iran to develop their own WMD's, it is no longer relevant. What IS relevant is that they have become THE regional supporter and exporter of terrorism. What IS relevant is that they have the stated goal of annihilating Israel, and think they can afford a nuclear exchange. Iran badly needs to be stopped.

With Saddam out of power, the mullahs have a better set of options. American (or Israeli) pre-emptive action is still on the table, but without a dictator next door sitting on a stockpile of weapons, the mullahs now have the option of dropping their nuclear program with little to fear. What Mr. Bush has given the Iranian mullahs is a chance to rejoin the civilized world, much the way Libya's Moammar Gadhafi has done.

It's hard to imagine how that was going to be possible before March 2003 or how the Iraq war really was going to change the outlook of the Middle East. But America's hard-line policies have shifted the momentum, which is why Iran turned to negotiating with Europe. The mullahs are hoping to benefit from the world that Mr. Bush has created, without paying any price for it--something the Europeans are all too eager to allow.

As they've shown here.
So nice to know we're being taken care of. please read the whole thing.