Mullings An American Cyber Column By Rich Galen

US & Int'l Papers

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Connecting the Dots to Iran

Monday February 6, 2006

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Iran's refusal to stop attempting to produce weapons-grade nuclear fuels has a direct link to the Darlings of the Left: Hugo Ch�vez, Harry Belafonte, and Cindy Sheehan.

The IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) - is the nuclear watchdog for the United Nations. Over the weekend, the IAEA adopted a resolution referring Iran's nuclear malfeasance to the United Nations, which may be the global equivalent of being tossed out of study hall for chewing gum, but still; it's something.

Who knows whether the United Nations will actually do anything to or about Iran. But, among the people I depend upon to keep track of these things - the French - this appears to be a pretty significant event.

Let us, for the purposes of this discussion, agree with the French. Hauling the Iranians' collective butts before the UN Security Council is a big deal. If nothing else it is a big deal because of the 35 members of the IAEA, 27 of them voted with the US to do it.

Five countries - South Africa, Belarus, Algeria, Indonesia and Libya abstained from voting - which makes us wonder why we're paying their per diems and air fares for these meetings.

But three countries - Syria, Cuba, and Venezuela - voted against the resolution.

All right: Syria. They need Iran to continue to be the world's goofballs because that keeps them off the international diplomatic radar screen.

Cuba. Who knows? Maybe they believe Iran will produce nuclear-powered cigars.

SIDEBAR

I was walking down L Street in Your Nation's Capital the other day and saw a sign in a window for "Pre-Embargo" Cuban Cigars.
The first embargo goes all the way back to 1961. The most recent renewal was in 1990.
Assuming the cigars in question are pre-1990; don't cigars have a "sell-by" date? If so, is it more than 16 years after manufacture?

END SIDEBAR

The third country, Venezuela, is interesting because its president, Hugo Ch�vez is virulently anti-American and so, has emerged as a hero of the international Left.

Harry Belafonte, who should be nobody's hero, appeared with Ch�vez at a rally recently when he called President Bush "the greatest terrorist in the world."

The Human Billboard, Cindy Sheehan, recently made a big splash at the World Socialist Forum in Caracas, Venezuela where, according to the Peoples' Weekly website, "Ch�vez called attention to the presence of Cindy Sheehan on the speakers platform."

The only reason for a country like Venezuela to vote with Iran is because of the oft-quoted saying: "The enemy of my enemy is my friend."

Here's the syllogism: Ch�vez is a self-proclaimed enemy of the United States. Iran is an enemy of the United States. Ergo, Chavez is a friend of Iran.

Once again, my Liberal Arts education from Marietta College pays huge dividends.

While the Post and the Times both ran the story and the names of the countries who supported Iran on their front pages, the Times described the vote thus:

"The vote in Vienna was promoted as a significant victory for the Bush administration �"

With no explanation as to who was doing the "promoting."

The Post was a bit more positive saying the vote had "handed the United States and European countries a diplomatic victory."

We should all watch with interest public figures in the US who continue to praise Hugo Ch�vez. The opposite of that old "enemy of my enemy" thing is also true: The friend of my enemy is � my enemy.

The resolution referring Iran to the Security Council ends by saying the IAEA Board of Governors will "remain seized of the matter."

the next time you hear someone praising Cindy Sheehan or Harry Belafonte you should, too, "remain seized of the matter."

On a the Secret Decoder Ring page today: A link to the unreadable resolution this is all about; a link to the Cuban embargo timeline; last year's Superbowl Sunday Mullfoto; and a Catchy Caption of the Day reflecting the dreadful halftime show from last night.

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