New York Times Editorial - Recipe for a perfect crisis

New York Times Editorial - Recipe for a perfect crisis
Copyright by The New York Times

TUESDAY, APRIL 18, 2006

Let us not kid ourselves. Iran's drive to develop nuclear weapons technology would pose an enormous challenge for Washington even if the Bush administration had not tied U.S. ground forces down in Iraq, squandered its diplomatic credibility over Baghdad's nonexistent nuclear program and pursued a reckless energy policy that has made America the world's most extravagant oil guzzler and helped maximize Iran's petroleum leverage.

But those disastrous decisions have left Washington with far fewer tools than it might have had for managing a crisis that very much needs to be managed. The prospect of Iran's acquiring nuclear weapons, even in 10 years' time, rattles people and governments, not just in Israel, but across the Middle East and beyond.

Because Iran has natural uranium supplies and the technological know- how to convert uranium into bomb fuel, the only conceivable long-term solution is to somehow persuade Iranian leaders that they have more to lose from building nuclear weapons than from not building them.

The logical method would be concerted and coercive diplomacy. And that's where the costly policy mistakes of the past few years come in. Some of the countries that Washington most needs to work with are still wary of the Bush administration's intentions, consistency and commitment to multilateralism. And the Iranians, with their strong hand in Iraq, do not seem to feel very coerced.

A flurry of reports about possible preparations for airstrikes seems to have alarmed American military and foreign policy specialists more than the Iranians - and rightly so.

With no realistic military solutions available, Washington needs to redouble its diplomatic efforts. That should include a willingness to talk directly with Iran about the nuclear issue and to take a fresh look at some of the proposals now floating around that might give Iranian leaders a face-saving way to substantially slow their enrichment efforts. Even if such an approach produces no satisfactory agreement, it will help strengthen the basis for joint diplomatic action through the Security Council.