Poker

The Europeans have within their grasp the means to keep the nuclear genie in the bottle; but 60 years of socialism with American military protection gave them a false sense of security:

Iran demands that Europeans back its nuclear quest: report

Iran is boldly demanding that Britain, France and Germany actively support its quest for advanced nuclear technology for both civilian and military purposes, rather than opposing it...

...the Iranians set out their own demands, stating that Europe's three biggest nations -- two of them nuclear powers -- should back Iran's quest for "advanced (nuclear) technology, including those of dual use".

Britain, France and Germany, they said, should "remove impediments" preventing Iran from having such technology, and do so regardless of any "legal (or) political... limitations," an apparent reference to US pressure or international sanctions, the newspaper said.

Furthermore, the Iranian side stated that London, Paris and Berlin should agree to meet Iran's requirements for conventional weapons, and to "provide security assurances" against a nuclear attack on Iran, it said.

While Britain, France and Germany are still debating how to respond to the demands, the newspaper quoted British officials as calling them "extremely surprising, given the delicate state of process".

It added that, according to the British officials, Iran's demands had "gone down very badly".

Kerry wants us to believe that the game of nuclear proliferation is chess---with strategic moves and a board with rules. But it isn’t chess---it’s poker. There’s the hand, and the bluff. In poker, eventually the hand gets called. In this game, the stakes couldn’t be higher. We should remember that Saddam played poker, not chess. And in the end, his hand was called. Perhaps he had nothing all along, and was bluffing; but it was the game he played well to the end.

Iran is also playing poker, and it has laid down its most recent, audacious bet: that the Euros will simply roll over and give them what they want. The mullahs have every reason to expect compliance from Europe. The Europeans have turned their backs on the one credible power that stands between them and a global suicide cult wiring itself with nukes. The West’s hand is weak, and the mullahs know it. The divide within the West is its Achilles heel. The mullahs’ daredevil approach to Europe is the peace dividend in action---give a little, and they ask for more. Their dauntlessness will grow, as did Hitler’s all throughout his 1930s conquests. With the United States in a box, what do the Europeans have that is a credible deterrent to stop the mullahs’ nuclear ambitions?

History’s judgment is cold, and harsh. And it will be so for those who sold the West down the river, satisfying themselves with deliberation and vacillation in the face of naked evil. The Iranian poker game is nearing its climax---whether it’s Bush or Kerry in 2005 will not prevent its culmination. Saddam’s hand, in the end, was weak. We should not expect the same from Iran.