The American Spectator

Another Perspective

How About a Nuclear Standoff?

By William Tucker on 11.14.06 @ 12:07AM

(Page 2 of 2)

Of course there is always the fear that a nuclear Iran will go ahead and attack Israel anyway. A suicide bomber here, a suicide nation there, what's the difference? It's all part of martyrdom. Russia may have been outside the van of civilization, but Muslims often seem outside the van of humanity.

On the other hand, would a Muslim country bomb Jerusalem, the home of the Dome of the Rock, where Muhammad spent his famous night journey meeting with Abraham, Moses and Jesus before ascending the ladder of light to the throne of Allah? It doesn't seem likely. Would it be worth leveling the entire Persian plateau in order to take out Tel Aviv? These are the kind of decisions a mature Muslim state will have to make.

Right now we are at a moral disadvantage. We can't threaten Iran with our nuclear weapons because they are making no complementary threat against us. But if Iran has the bomb, then we have no such prohibitions. Kim Jong-Il has sobered up awfully quickly after exploding his backyard device.

It's time to put the ball back into our home court -- technological superiority. The nuclear stalemate kept the peace for 45 years and eventually led to the Soviet downfall. It's the little wars -- Vietnam, Korea, Iraq -- that get us in trouble. Let's allow Iran into the nuclear club and explain the rules of membership. They'll catch on fast.

Letter to the Editor

topics:
Islam, Military, Iraq, Iran, Russia, Israel, North Korea, Socialism, Nuclear Weapons, Energy