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Talk to Tehran
WSJ ^ | May 8, 2006 | SAMUEL R. BERGER

Posted on 05/08/2006 6:05:26 AM PDT by Brilliant

It says something about our nation's posture...that the most serious challenge we face is not Iraq -- notwithstanding a deadly insurgency, the increased risk of an all-out civil war, a massive drain on our economic resources and moral authority, and most of all, the tragic loss of lives -- but Iran. Armed with nuclear weapons, Tehran would confront the U.S. with the worst of all possible worlds: a radical theocracy led by a Holocaust-denier, awash in oil money, allied with terrorists, openly boasting of its desire to destroy Israel and possessing the deadliest of weapons.

Emboldened, its leaders would feel free to engage in destabilizing activity throughout the region. Frightened, its neighbors would feel compelled to engage in a nuclear crash program of their own. Regional threats to U.S. interests would multiply. The nonproliferation regime would collapse...

One should not rule out a military option of last resort for preventing Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon. But we should be under no illusions: This will be neither cakewalk nor surgical strike, but rather a sustained military campaign with high risks and uncertain returns...

Another course is possible, one that is more likely to prevent a military confrontation or, if it nonetheless becomes unavoidable, less likely to produce such dangerous aftershocks. The U.S. should sit down with those who should share a sense of danger -- including, first and foremost, the European Union, Russia and China -- and explain that we are prepared for a bold diplomatic move toward Tehran if our allies are ready in exchange to impose tough sanctions on Iran should it reject a reasonable offer...

The president has stated that all options are on the table... But all options include the diplomatic one. The least we ought to do is to try it robustly.

(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...


TOPICS: Foreign Affairs; War on Terror
KEYWORDS: berger; cfrgoon; iran; nuclear; tehran
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If Iran is liable to unleash a nuclear holocaust, I don't think that talk is going to work. Maybe Berger ought to open his eyes and realize that it's the diplomatic option that we've been trying for the last 6 years, and that is the one that has so far failed.
1 posted on 05/08/2006 6:05:29 AM PDT by Brilliant
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To: Brilliant

"Drop them a note", as it were!!!


2 posted on 05/08/2006 6:06:02 AM PDT by MortMan (Trains stop at train stations. On my desk is a workstation...)
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To: Brilliant


Is there anyone intellectually honest enough to believe that Berger is an authority on this issue?

Diplomacy failed 26 years ago with Iran. They're a bunch of nutjobs and should be accorded such status.


3 posted on 05/08/2006 6:08:56 AM PDT by in hoc signo vinces ("Houston, TX...a waiting quagmire for jihadis. American gals are worth fighting for!")
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To: Brilliant

Great advice, burglar. Negotiate with a madman. Not bloody likely to produce desirable results, in fact, a waste time. /sarcasm


4 posted on 05/08/2006 6:09:57 AM PDT by RKV ( He who has the guns, makes the rules.)
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To: Brilliant

I think the biggest threat to our Republic is a former National Security Advisor stealing classified documents from the National Archives.


5 posted on 05/08/2006 6:11:15 AM PDT by GianniV
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To: Brilliant

Bad news does not improve with age. We need to bomb those lunatics into powder NOW.


6 posted on 05/08/2006 6:12:16 AM PDT by tomzz
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To: Brilliant

Gee Sandy, would this give us 'Peace In Our Time'? And do you think all those papers hidden under your clothes will help keep your arse from toasting when the Iranians touch off their bomb?


7 posted on 05/08/2006 6:12:24 AM PDT by pikachu (For every action there is an equal and opposite government program)
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To: Brilliant

Crime obviously pays. Shame on the WSJ for publishing anything from this clymer. Plenty of folks out there who cannot get clearances because of things they did that amount to absolutely nothing, but fall within the 7 year window that gets scrutiny. Meanwhile, here's someone who should be locked away for the rest of his life for systematically destoying black-level material and he walks free, marking the time till his clearance gets restored. A disgrace. An utter disgrace.


8 posted on 05/08/2006 6:13:32 AM PDT by Dahoser (Time to condense the stupid party nonsense: Terry Tate for RNC chairman.)
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To: Brilliant

The deal is leave Iraq and drop support for Isreal. Iran thinks they will get an Administration to take the deal in the near future.


9 posted on 05/08/2006 6:15:10 AM PDT by Semper Paratus
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To: Brilliant

you have to show you mean business before you set off your fireworks in hopes it can be avoided, because, contrary to what so many seem to think, it's not going to be a fun, games and picnics on the 4th of July if it comes to that.


10 posted on 05/08/2006 6:15:21 AM PDT by the invisib1e hand (It takes courage to live. Hence, the "culture of death...")
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To: Brilliant

Irans rush to nuclear power is a defensive move. They understand MAD and understand they are safer with "the bomb" than without it. I can't disagree with them.

The question is: Who will have their finger on the trigger a generation or two from now?


11 posted on 05/08/2006 6:16:03 AM PDT by Glenn (There is a looming Tupperware shortage. Plan appropriately.)
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To: Dahoser
A disgrace. An utter disgrace.

Absolutely right. If Berger were a Republican, he'd be sitting in jail right now.
12 posted on 05/08/2006 6:16:07 AM PDT by advance_copy (Stand for life, or nothing at all)
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To: Dahoser

You said this better than I could...the spittle was shorting out my keyboard.

This sort of thing, rewarding the creeps with credibility, is, at the heart, what's wrong with the system.


13 posted on 05/08/2006 6:16:33 AM PDT by x1stcav (Illegals go home! I'll mow the damned lawn myself!)
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To: Brilliant
He's got the solution to every international problem on documents stuffed down his pants.

Why is it that Clinton and Clinton appointees have something about pants......up or down?

14 posted on 05/08/2006 6:17:31 AM PDT by CROSSHIGHWAYMAN (I'm a proud GRINGO......is Bill Clinton still the president?...Seems that way!)
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To: Brilliant

Hey, Sandy, I've got an idea! Get President Bush to appoint you as Special Envoy to Iran. During your visit there, inadvertently take all of their nuclear plans and stuff them in your shorts. When you get back home, accidentally destroy them.


15 posted on 05/08/2006 6:19:30 AM PDT by TruthShallSetYouFree (Abortion is to family planning what bankruptcy is to financial planning.)
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To: Brilliant

Talk to Iran? About what? Mass conversion of the entire population of the US to Islam? Simply dismantling every military, financial, commercial, or philanthropic enterprise in the country? Total and unilateral withdrawal from all foreign involvement? Or just walk out into the sea, as has been suggested for Israel?

Sorry, Iran, America is here and shall continue to be here for some while to come. A simple fact they cannot seem to get their heads around. We have tried to be understanding, we have tried to be generous, but we are spurned when we engage in those strategies. We grow weary of their intransigence and inane pronouncements.

Iran has tried our patience mightily, and it is time they took responsibility for the intent of their statements.


16 posted on 05/08/2006 6:19:43 AM PDT by alloysteel
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To: advance_copy
If Berger were a Republican, he'd be sitting in jail right now.

Who did the plea bargain?

Aren't the President and the AG BOTH Republicans?

17 posted on 05/08/2006 6:23:20 AM PDT by Jim Noble (And you know what I'm talkin' 'bout!)
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To: Jim Noble

Yes, and that sends my blood pressure up to the next level of exponentiation.


18 posted on 05/08/2006 6:24:25 AM PDT by Dahoser (Time to condense the stupid party nonsense: Terry Tate for RNC chairman.)
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To: MortMan

as long as it's written one word at a time on a JDAM I'd go for it.


19 posted on 05/08/2006 6:25:15 AM PDT by SCHROLL (Liberalism isn't a political philosophy - it's a mental illness)
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To: in hoc signo vinces
Is there anyone intellectually honest enough to believe that Berger is an authority on this issue?

More important than that . . . Why the F#CK is the Wall Street Journal giving this convicted @SSHOLE a platform to spew his nonsense in the first place?!?!

20 posted on 05/08/2006 6:25:30 AM PDT by Alberta's Child (Can money pay for all the days I lived awake but half asleep?)
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