printDiplomacy, not bribery à la Bush, is a good thing, for sure, all the more so if it averts violent confrontation. The goal with Iran ought to be to get IAEA inspectors in there, and have them criss-cross the place—and keep doing so—as they did Iraq before Bush banished them (to wage war, in violation of international and every other law, including natural). Treat Iran’s nuclear facilities like CSI would a crime scene.
But let’s be perfectly clear on who is offering whom a way out. The package of incentives (and disincentives) made to Iran, a pivotal member of Bush’s “axis of evil,” contradicts the Bush Doctrine in every possible way, not least in ignoring the poisonous drip-drip of dissident groups urging action (and that’s a good thing: think Mr. liar-liar-pants-on-fire Chalabi).
By allowing them to front the Iran “deal,” the Europeans have lifted Bush and Rice from the blood-soaked Iraqi soil, dusted them off, and let them save what they lost in “Mess-opotamia”: face.
A way out for Iran? More like a way back in for America.