Posted by
Andrews on Friday, April 25, 2008 12:59:14 PM
I
wrote earlier about the arguments for preventing Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons. Oddly enough, as redhead pointed out in
the comment, I managed to forget the most basic argument of all, that nonproliferation treaties prevent Iran from doing so.
Which actually raises an interesting point, that the left seems to have a strange view of treaties.
In the run up to the liberation of Iraq, one of the arguments raised was simply that Saddam had never signed a formal peace treaty ending the first Gulf War. There was a ceasefire that had been in effect since the end of that conflict, but by refusing inspectors full access, and in firing at planes in the no-fly zones, Saddam had breached that ceasefire and we were completely justified in renewing hostilities. The left simply ignored that argument.
Now have proof that Iran is (or was*) building nuclear weapons, in clear violation of established treaties. The reaction on the left? Silence.
On the other hand, when President Bush wanted to build a missile defense, the left immediately brought out the ABM Treaties signed by the US and Soviet Union. Despite the fact that the Soviet Union no longer exists, the left was insistent that these treaties banned any such program and the US was bound to obey them.
My question is this: Other than simple partisanship, is there any rational explanation for this? Is there any way someone can justify ignoring both the Gulf War ceasefire and the nonproliferation treaties yet insist that we must obey the ABM restrictions negotiated with the now-defunct Soviet Union? Because I cannot.
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* I know the most recent NIE suggests that the "military" portion is no longer taking place, but that seems a specious argument. Refining uranium is the hardest part for both civilian and military applications. So 95% of the military work will be completed by this "civilian" program. You can read my earlier thoughts on this at the locations:
Idiots or Geniuses?
I Told You So
Another Thought on Iran
Heads I Win, Tails You Lose
I Don't Get It
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Note: As the weekend is coming I will finally get to those essays I have been promising for two days. Sorry for taking so long to finally get to them.