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| Europe |
| EU presidency rejects military strikes on Iran |
| 2004-11-05 |
| Iran is not threatening to nuke the E.U. so what do they care. The European Union's Dutch presidency dismissed Thursday speculation about a US military strike on Iran to force the Islamic republic to abandon its nuclear drive. Referring to suggestions that some in the United States wanted to attack Iran, labelled part of an "axis of evil" by the re-elected President George W. Bush, Dutch Foreign Minister Bernard Bot said "not all people in Washington" endorsed this. "I don't think we're thinking of military strikes. I think that would be counter-productive," he told reporters shortly before the start of a two-day EU summit that will debate Iran among other international headaches. Iran nuking Israel or the Saudi oil fields would be "counter-productive". Ahead of fresh talks on the nuclear issue between Iran and the EU in Paris on Friday, Bot said the EU had "clear indications" that the Iranian government wants to pursue dialogue. "It is more helpful to continue the dialogue and to convince the Iranians that there are other means if you want to have a nuclear programme," he said, noting a Russian offer of enriched uranium for peaceful atomic energy in Iran. But the Dutch minister added: "Of course we cannot wait interminably." Earlier Thursday, British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said it was "inconceivable" that the United States would attack Iran over its nuclear programme and that the world would back such action. |
| Posted by:Mark Espinola |
| #9 Oops again, guys. #6 was me. |
| Posted by: Barbara Skolaut 2004-11-05 7:13:06 PM |
| #8 Hear, hear, tu3031! Or make it clear to the Iranians that we won't target them if they would re aim their missiles to the EU distance limits! |
| Posted by: smn 2004-11-05 2:52:52 PM |
| #7 Just for the hell of it, put a resolution before the EU which authorizes Iranian nuclear strikes on Europe. I wonder if it would pass? |
| Posted by: tu3031 2004-11-05 2:20:31 PM |
#6 EU presidency rejects military strikes on IranWorks for me. The pussies in the EU don't have anything to strike Iran with anyway. Except maybe a soccer ball. Yeah, like that'll work. |
| Posted by: Jereque Ebbavish9446 2004-11-05 11:25:36 AM |
| #5 They haven't quite got up the nerve to pull out the ultimate weapon: the Frown of Concern®. |
| Posted by: Seafarious 2004-11-05 9:17:04 AM |
| #4 What were they going to strike with? Perhaps a disabling blow from a harshly worded resolution followed by waves of carefully nuanced irony with maybe a diplomatic snub or two thrown in for good measure. MarkE is correct that the EU will do nothing because a) it will be someone else's problem first and b) those someones, either Israel or the US, will take action even if the EU simply stands around jawing about the problem. |
| Posted by: SteveS 2004-11-05 9:12:05 AM |
| #3 What were they going to strike with? British weapons? |
| Posted by: Mrs. Davis 2004-11-05 8:39:52 AM |
| #2 Civilizations age and die, just like individuals do. |
| Posted by: Anonymous6092 2004-11-05 8:30:43 AM |
| #1 Bot's fellow country men are being killed by muslims on the streets in Holland. He has no clue for what the hell the EU is dealing with in Iran. Demonstrastions where "death to america" is the prominent feature accompanied by talk about nuclear development and missle tests are the kind of thing that will assure the US never "asks" before it attacks. The Bots own people are already under attack at home. The Dutch governments response to attacks and threats is to send more cops to protect mosques. This guy Bot and the ruling elites of the EU are clueless. Iran is going to eat them for lunch and the EU will lay their and die. My dutch friend and I chatted again last night. He is "liberal" but he is ready to burn these arse holes out. He says you can't even go out for a drink in his small town without some muslim wanting to have a fight with you or giving you some kind of crap.(I thought they didn't drink?) His ex girl friend was raped by a "north african," coworkers have been attacked and hospitalized by "muslims gangs." Some crazy turban showed up at his Mom's school and shot some folks. He is going for an "illegal" firearm for self protection. He and his pals are all voting for Wilders. The average Dutchman has had it with the "imigrants" who are not assimilating and expecting that dutch society adapt to them. One can hope Putin will come to his senses and explain to Terhan that if a nuclear device should happen to go off in the mideast Terhan can expect Russia to nuke Iran until the rubble is like fine flour except made of glass. This will get the terrorist state turbans attention. They will get no warning from us I hope. I hope we just act. Since most of europe doesn't have a clue and is fed nothing but anti american propaganda by the MSM why should we even care what they think. Our future is not in europe it's in the pacific and with China and India. Old Europe is stagnat protectionist and ossified. |
| Posted by: Sock Puppet of Doom 2004-11-05 6:03:14 AM |