Who has the Cajones to Stop Iran?

Apparently “political correctness” has scored a diplomatic victory for Iran. The key: Have lots of oil then thumb your political nose at International (i.e. useless U.N.) EVERY SINGLE TIME a Resolution is put forth calling Iran to terminate their nuclear program.

Here is Decision 08 quoting the Chicago Tribune:

Iran appears to have solved most of its technological problems and is beginning to enrich uranium on a far larger scale than before. Tehran may well have passed the critical point, at which its scientists have mastered the technological feat of keeping thousands of delicate centrifuges spinning at terrific speeds. If so, that means all the assumptions about when Iran might be capable of enriching enough uranium to build a bomb would need to be recalculated. Tehran’s ability to build a bomb — estimated by various intelligence officials to be five to 10 years off — is likely to be moved up.

Here’s the math: International inspectors reportedly found that Iran has about 1,300 centrifuges running. If the Iranians can sustain that progress, their next milestone comes when they’ve got 3,000 running. At that point, nuclear experts said, Iran would be able to produce enough highly enriched uranium for a bomb within nine months or so.

“We believe they pretty much have the knowledge about how to enrich,” International Atomic Energy Agency chief Mohamed ElBaradei told The New York Times. “From now on, it is simply a question of perfecting that knowledge. People will not like to hear it, but that’s a fact.”

No, we don’t like to hear it. But the sooner that fact is acknowledged, the sooner the Security Council can drop the pretense that the slow ratcheting of sanctions will force the Iranians to freeze their enrichment efforts. Incremental pressure won’t budge Iran. The only sanctions with even the faintest hope of stopping the Iranians are also the ones that would require the greatest international cooperation and cause the most economic pain worldwide.

Embargoing Iran’s oil exports, for instance, would stagger Iran’s already shaky economy. But the embargo would likely spring huge leaks even as pump prices rocketed. The other sensitive Iranian target: gasoline. Iran has huge oil reserves but it lacks sufficient refinery capacity and must import more than a third of its gasoline, mainly from Europe and India. A gas embargo could devastate much of the country’s industry, if it were enforced. Such dramatic measures could also backfire, rallying support for the ruling mullahs.

The next UN Security Council deadline for Iran to ignore falls next week.