Really now, isn’t working tirelessly toward a shared goal with your allies wonderful? Who wouldn’t share in the joy of E.U. foreign affairs czar Javier Solana, German Chancellor Angela Merkel or even ” yes ” President George W. Bush, as they rhapsodize about the way in which the U.S and the leading West European powers have stood shoulder-to-shoulder trying to get Iran to give up its nuclear ambitions? Of course, these negotiations have gone nowhere, because Tehran rejects their very premise. (What nuclear weapons?) No matter: the Bush Administration has, for once, won praise from pundits delighted at the multilateralism now apparently in vogue in the White House.
The only problem with all of this ” how to put it politely? ” is that none of it matters. From the beginning of the Iranian crisis, the eventual diplomatic response to Tehran was always destined to be settled in one place, far from “the West.” For whether the world stands any chance of eventually imposing sanctions that might get the mullahs’ attention will be decided in China, by President Hu Jintao and the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party.
See also “China Endorses Russian Proposal on Iranian Nuclear Program” from the Washington Post.
