Even More Feckless Leaders And Warm Fuzzy Diplomacy

 

This post first appeared eight years ago to commemorate the beginning of World War II in 1939. I never dreamed, as our leadership continues negotiations, known or unknown, with fanatics who seek our destruction, that I could post it today, changing only the players and their georgraphy. 

This is going a brief post about the most important September 1 in the twentieth century. Today in 1939, Adolph Hitler launched a massive invasion of Poland and plunged the world into war. Eleven months earlier Hitler had signed the Munich Agreement pledging to end his aggression in exchange for certain borderlands in Czechoslovakia inhabited by German-speaking people. Most of us know this history in the context of British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain triumphantly returning to London and waving the agreement while declaring "peace for our time."

In the coming months our government may have an opportunity to pass judgement on a nuclear agreement with Iran and perhaps a cease fire in Russia's war against Ukraine. We don't know if these steps back from the brink will produce peace for our time. We almost assuredly know any agreement with Iran will produce, with the assistance of the West, an advanced nuclear program and possibly nuclear arms for a nation in the hands of religious fanatics. The prospects have already produced a nuclear arms race in the Middle East. Those who recognize the phrase, "balance of terror," may see a new parallel developing in the region. With history as our example and virtual wholesale trust as our principle, I believe those who accept such agreements  and proudly wave them over the heads of their admirers will become the feckless Chamberlains of the twenty-first century.

Many writers have warned us about the perils of ignoring history. Even in plain sight, we don't seem to listen well.


Sources

Photo: huffingtonpost.com

Asteroid 2012 DA14 May Have Sent Us A Visitor

There was a spectacular meteorite in the Russian Urals a few hours ago.  There are reports of damage on the ground and panic in nearby cities. The videos and stills included in this story posted on Drudge are stunning. Authorities have suggested this event is related to the near-Earth pass by Asteroid 2012 DA14 that will occur later this morning.

Will Israel Stop Iran From Going Nuclear On August 21?

Word hasn't yet reached the usual democrat media homepages--NYT, WAPO, CNN, ABC, NBC, CBS--but comments made by John Bolton, former interim U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, continue to rumble around conservative news sites on the Internet. Drudge is linking to this Yahoo report from the AP. According to Bolton, Israeli forces--anyone's for that matter--have until August 21 to take out Iran's capability to build a nuclear reactor. His reasoning focuses on Russia's delivery of nuclear fuel to the Iranian reactor they have helped construct. Once the fuel is loaded into the core, an attack on the reactor will likely spread radioactive materials throughout the region. Furthermore, an attack on a functional nuclear reactor would violate international law.

News sources report that Bolton thinks the opportunity to stop Iranian nuclear efforts has already been lost. He doesn't expect Israel to attack by August 21. Still, when Bolton talks, I listen very carefully because he remains one of the nation's most significant and, better yet, rational voices on the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.

It could be a most interesting week in the Middle East. Stay tuned, my friends.

Time Running Out On Iran?

According to recent polls, only 4% of Israelis believe the Obama administration supports their interests in the Middle East. This is also a measure of the perception of our effectiveness in extending an olive branch to the Islamic world. It may also create an effective impression that Israel stands alone in any action it takes to eradicate an Iranian nuclear threat, That action may be much closer than we imagine following a clandestine trip to Moscow by Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyehu on Monday.

There's virtually nothing about it in the mainstream media or blogosphere, but William Katz (Urgent Agenda) picked up the story and connected the dots.

UPDATE: As of 1:30 EDT, this story is up on the Drudge Report.

Space Stations and Mullah Missles

Last night, I went outside about an hour after sunset to watch the International Space Station (ISS) pass over my house. Atlanta was in the last grasps of an arctic dome of cold, clear air, so the pass was exceptional, rising in the northwest, reaching a height of 61 degrees, and disappearing at the horizon in the southeast after 112 seconds. Earlier in the day, I noticed that my source for the flyover time - Spaceweather - also listed the near tandem passes for the new Iranian satellite and its booster rocket. That reminded me of another story in yesterday's news: President Obama's intention to carry out his campaign promise to pursue a policy of no weapons in space, e.g., no "Star Wars" projects. There was also news of his proposal to reduce our nuclear weapons stock to something like 500 warheads, if Russia would agree to do the same. I think there was some indication of a unilateral action to give others some incentive.

With Iran working hard to develop some nuclear capability with assistance from the Russians, our defense systems should take on new meaning. It is one thing to deal with an old adversary who shares many of your Western values. It is quite another to coexist with a society bent on martyrdom as a pathway to salvation. I hope we are looking beyond Russian missiles when planning our tactical response to threats from the sky. The Iranian space program may have more in store for us than opportunities to watch their latest achievements in space drift over my house.

Granted, it has been a very rough two weeks for the new administration, undoubtedly the worst in my 50 years observing such transitions. We can afford neither the instability nor the soft leftist thinking that appears to be seeping into our defense policy. The world is watching every move, every minute. Let's not give them opportunities to see weakness. As my life unfolds, I want to be assured that the bright fast-moving "star" coming over my horizon is the ISS or another object I can enjoy watching.