Iranian problem needs multilateral solutions

More upcoming difficulties for Obama administration

Iran has come under scrutiny recently after its construction of a clandestine uranium enrichment facility outside Tehran was revealed.

President Barack Obama spoke in Pittsburgh last Friday, flanked by British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and French President Nicolas Sarkozy.

Although Western intelligence had been observing the facility for years, the three leaders have waited until now to express knowledge of it.

The announcement in Pittsburgh followed an Iranian letter to the International Atomic Energy Agency IAEA apparently informing the agency of the plant’s existence. Only after realizing the West was watching did Iran decide to formally disclose its operation.

Iranian officials claim the nuclear plant has civilian purposes but neglected to explain why it was hidden in the side of a mountain. While Iran received mild reproach from China and Russia, Obama promised harsher consequences if an inspection of the plant is not granted within weeks.

The nuclear development is just one of many pressing and publicized issues involving Iran this year. Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s dubious reelection over the summer gave rise to massive, internationally covered protests in the nation’s capital, Tehran.

The multi-day movement was eventually quelled after the Iranian government shut down Internet and cell phone services, rendering the country isolated from the rest of the world.
The election led to questions of the government’s legitimacy and perhaps even prompted suspicions about other unseen Iranian activities.

Debate has raged concerning Iran’s pursuit and desire to attain nuclear weapons, but the revelation of this facility leaves little room for future doubt.

While Obama has demanded a formal inspection of the nuclear plant, it is unlikely that Iran will comply with any incriminating investigation. The sanctions that Obama has proposed will also fall flat without similar actions by the Russian or Chinese governments.

The tense situation presents difficulties for the Obama administration, as any impositions that forebode severe economic damage could alter Iranian citizens’ stance toward the West.
However, sanctions that pose little problem for Iran leave no incentive for the country’s government to comply.

The Iranian nuclear spectacle revives the memory of when Vice President Joe Biden was caught on tape last fall, proclaiming that the world would soon test Obama as it had President John Kennedy—one of Biden’s gaffes that holds prophetic value.

Arguments have begun to shift from whether Iran is striving to make nuclear weapons to whether Iran would actually put nuclear weapons to use.

Israel remains mysteriously quiet on issue altogether – the one nation that undoubtedly faces the palpable threat of Iran.

Ahmadinejad’s absurd insistence that the Holocaust is a fictitious part of history raises questions of the man’s sanity and of his willingness to instigate nuclear war.

Another diplomatic puzzle is negotiating the release of the three Americans detained along the Iran-Iraq boundary after they hiked across the border and were retained in Iranian custody. Iran will most likely use the three as bargaining tools to leverage themselves in the Geneva nuclear talks or in less public diplomatic engagements.

Swiss officials have been granted access to the detainees as a possible public relations move leading up to today’s nuclear talks. Since the Americans’ involvement, the issue has received relatively low attention.

The developing controversy with Iran has drawn several parallels to North Korea. Both nations strive for nuclear footing and have taken Americans into custody as political pawns this year.
Akin to North Korea a few months ago, Iran has begun to test fire both short- and long-range missiles as a clear act of defiance toward the West and as an opportunity to flex its military muscle.

While the two compare militarily, Iran has not been cut off from the world as North Korea has. The Iranian people are more knowledgeable (thanks to the Internet) and have even been westernized to some degree.

Both countries pose a looming threat of unpredictability – challenges that will become another hurdle in Obama’s short tenure as president.

From the health care folly to the increasing troubles in Afghanistan, Obama has several tough decisions to make, as evidenced by the emerging shade of presidential gray in his hair.

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