(Washington Times) Tony Blankley - A nuclear Iran, either out of calculation that it could win a nuclear exchange with Israel, or out of a fanatical derangement, clearly poses an existential threat to Israel. No Israeli leader could risk exposing his country to such a threat, if he could avoid it. While the U.S. shares the Israeli concern, beyond that, the United States as the dominant world power would have primary responsibility for managing a more aggressive, harder to deter Iran that might feel safer in using terrorism to strike the West, armed with a nuclear deterrent. French President Jacques Chirac last week added a fascinating and unexpected element by his threat that France might use its nuclear weapons against a country that either launched a terrorist attack against France or cut off its "strategic supplies" (i.e., oil). The French press, from left to right, immediately stated that Chirac's target was Iran. Some observers judge (I believe quite plausibly) that Chirac is now alive to the threat of radical Islam in France, and he is prepared to threaten to go nuclear to try to stop its encouragement from outside.
2006-01-27 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive