 German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder rejected the threat of military force against Iran yesterday, hours after US President George Bush said he would consider it as a last resort to press Tehran to give up its nuclear program. Schroeder, one of the most prominent European opponents of the US-led war in Iraq, told an election rally in his home city of Hanover that the threat of force was not acceptable. "I am worried about developments there because no one wants the Iranian leadership to gain possession of atomic weapons," Schroeder said.
| But if it comes down to a choice of Iran developing nuclear weapons and the U.S. beating the hell out of them, you'd rather they had nuclear weapons? Brilliant. |
"The Europeans and the Americans are united in this goal. Up to now we were also united in the way to pursue this. This morning I read that military options are now on the table. My answer to that is: 'Dear friends in Europe and America, let us work out a strong negotiating position. But let's take the military option off the table. We have seen it doesn't work,'" he said.
| Actually, it's worked pretty well. Ask Mullah Omar. Sammy's out of the dictator business and Uday and Qusay are decomposing. There are Baathists among the guys we're fighting in Iraq right now, but they're never coming back to power. So the military option does work. If the military option's on the table it will make the diplomatic approach work better — there'll be an incentive to reach a deal rather than duke it out with the Marines. |
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