Foot Dragging

Iran, as predicted, has not reached the promised agreement with the United States, et al over the dismantling of Iran’s nuclear capabilities … and the clock runs out tomorrow on these negotiations. Over six months ago I and many others were quite skeptical about these pie-in-the-sky arrangements … see: Batty. The United States then gave up many economic sanctions that were beginning to bite on Iran for what? Just for Iran’s coming to the negotiation table with its predictable pathetic stalling tactics. Calling Secretary of State, John Kerry, and the Obama administration fools is perhaps too kind. We had given up the little leverage we had with Iran for this will-o-the-wisp … just as we have done repeatedly in the past … see: Commentary Magazine Story.

Now, Russia, because it now has its tit in a ringer over the Ukraine fiasco, has threatened to scuttle any hopes for these negotiations … as though they were really any hopes to begin with. So now, the United States is likely to paper over our embarrassment by extending the deadline on these pointless talks until such time as Iran announces that it has the bomb … or bombs. And we will keep dragging our own feet … pretending that we are doing everything possible to stop this Mideast nuclear madness.

A Dangerous Chess Game

Iran is saber rattling again ... threatening to close the Strait of Hormuz if stricter economic sanctions are imposed upon it by the European Union (see: Reuters Story).  Of course, the United States would not permit such a belligerent action (unless The Barry was distracted by a Hawaiian wagyu-beef luau) and would blow the Iranian navy, speedboats and all, into Davy Jones's locker.

Nevertheless, it is curious why Iran would exhibit such rhetoric bluster close on the heels of its equally lunatic take-over of the British embassy a few short weeks ago (see: TheWeek Article).  Not that such moon-howlings are alien to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad  (as sanctioned by the Iranian Ayatollahs) ... he has repeatedly threatened to obliterate Israel once Iran is in possession of atomic weaponry.

The question becomes why such taunting of the West is now escalating?  I can see three possible reasons:

1) The United States has recently pulled all of its troops out of Iraq.  Iran's throwing up of all this gorilla dust makes it look more imposing in the eyes of the Shiite Iraqis and thus increases its sphere of influence on its erstwhile enemy neighbor.

2) Iran's "elections" are due to occur in March.  There is no doubt as to the expected results of this sham balloting.  However, if Iran can get the nationalistic juices flowing among its younger people, there might be less chance of the kind of rioting that occurred after the last phony election over two years ago.  (Also, the capture of the U.S. drone aircraft a few weeks ago ... see: Cyber Warfare ...  may have been partially directed toward this very same end.)

3) Iran is suspected to be getting very close to actually producing atomic weapons and their ability to deliver them on long-range missiles.  A potential naval clash in the Strait of Hormuz could serve as a smoke screen, helping to distract the wimpy West from the far more existential threat of a nuclear Holocaust in this area.

So Iran is once again playing its foolish chess game --- a few black pieces against the full contingent of white chessmen.  One rash move on the part of any of its Revolutionary Guards could cause explosive repercussions ... such as Israel taking out much of Iran's nuclear capabilities and, maybe even, the United States obliterating that captured drone in the process (like we should have weeks ago.)