Iran Diplomacy Works!

Fantastic news recently! It was widely reported Thursday that a diplomatic solution was finally found regarding the Iran nuke situation! Yes, the three years of apparently useless jibber-jabbering by Europeans has finally paid off big-time! (Shame on me for having ridiculed them.) Yes, a major breakthrough has been achieved: the US and its pseudo-allies have finally reached a diplomatic agreement on Iran.... amongst themselves!

Britain's new foreign secretary, Margaret Beckett, announced: "We have agreed on a set of far-reaching proposals as a basis for discussions with Iran." Good, now they can finally get down to some serious negotiations with Iran. If only Iran would be so kind as to have them.

Meanwhile, one dour pessimist tried to pour cold water on events: "Another senior European official expressed fears that the process could allow Iran time to 'string this along for a very long time.'" Well! There certainly hasn't been any grounds over the past three years for that kind of sweeping generalization, has there?

On a more serious note, let's do a quick recap:
- Iran is clearly trying to develop a nuclear bomb. Everyone knows it; no one disputes it (besides Iran).
- Iran is an indisputable enemy of the West. Weekly prayers include "Death to America" chants. Its president openly calls for the destruction of Israel, and openly expresses his goal that Islam should rule the world.
- Iran would use a nuclear bomb. Iran is ruled by Islamic fundamentalists with a messianic vision about the coming end of the world. These are not rational people. They "love death", as they openly tell us (and as Islamic suicide bombers prove weekly). They would be exhilirated by the chance to martyr themselves, as long as they could take us with them. A strategy of "nuclear deterrence" doesn't work with irrational people who think death is great.
- "Diplomacy" with an irrational life-hating dictatorship is dishonest and self-defeating. It is grotesquely irrational and immoral to seek to reward someone in exchange for not killing us. Isn't it blatantly obvious what behavior that encourages?
- Nothing we say or promise is going to stop Iran from developing nuclear weapons in any case. There is nothing in this world we could give them, or that they would want, that could persuade them to cease and desist. They don't care about "this world". Their focus is on the "next world"--which, according to their beliefs, a nuclear bomb will help to bring about.

Bottom line: Iran wants to destroy us. We don't want to be destroyed (well, I guess I can't speak for the Europeans). There is no middle ground here. There is nothing to discuss, debate, or negotiate.

There is only one "diplomatic message" that needs to be sent to Iran: Stop developing nuclear weapons, or we will destroy you. And we mean it.