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Source: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303828304575179683031919088.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
"Constructive Engagement" Has Given Iran Time to Develop Nuclear Weapons
(Wall Street Journal Europe) Alejo Vidal-Quadras - As world leaders met in Washington this week to discuss how to prevent nuclear terrorism, there was little doubt that time is running out to deal with Iran's nuclear weapons threat. It is now eight years since the opposition National Council of Resistance of Iran blew the lid on the mullahs' secret atom program and disclosed the existence of a uranium enrichment plant in Natanz and a heavy water plant for the production of plutonium in Arak. Yet, during all that time, Tehran has been allowed to make steady progress toward developing nuclear weapons. Regrettably, the EU's policy of "constructive engagement" was one of the main culprits in facilitating Iran's nuclear progress. Now Washington has bought the regime additional time. The Iranian regime knows now that the international community lacks the courage or conviction to confront its nuclear program. Biting sanctions could have and still could work. Engaging the mullahs only had the effect of legitimizing them and extending their brutal reign. The writer, a professor of nuclear physics, is vice president of the European Parliament.