Bush bypasses Iranian leaders to tell the people: We respect you
[entire article at link]
Mr Bush pledged that Washington would accept Iran developing civilian nuclear power but delivered an uncompromising message that it must abandon its nuclear weapons ambitions.
While Bush may be trying to throw Iran's people a face-saving sop in the form of continued pursuit of nuclear power generation, this is the exact wrong message to give a terrorist regime.
Nuclear power generation, as it iscurrently configured, is essentially a "dual use" technology. Any country that can master the entire fuel cycle then has direct access to the processing of weapons grade fissile material. Any nation that is at all involved in terrorism must denied nuclear technology of any sort. The ability to responsibly operate atomic power generation is an enticing carrot that must be withheld from those who refuse to comply with the bare minimums of orderly global conduct.
To date, Iran has done exactly ZERO to fulfill its obligations as a player on the world's stage. Much to the contrary, Iran has made nuclear threats against Israel and America, continued to sponsor international terrorism and meddle in the recovery of Iraq at the cost of American military lives. Until alternative reactor designs, like pebble bed technology or thorium fuel cycles are in mature operation, no Islamic regime should have access to the complete nuclear fuel cycle.