nuclear weapons

Actions Speak Louder Than Words

Speaking at an all-woman college in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton warned that if Iran develops nuclear weapons, an arms race in the Middle East could ensue.

Her words: "Everyone who I speak with in the Gulf, including the leaders here and leaders elsewhere in the region, are expressing deep concern about Iran's intentions."

Her warning, speaking of nuclear arms proliferation in the region should Iran develop this capability:

"If Iran gets a nuclear weapon, that hope disappears,because then other countries which feel threatened by Iran will say to themselves, 'If Iran has a nuclear weapon, I better get one, too, in order to protect my people. Then you have a nuclear arms race in the region."

Administration actions since the December 31, 2009 deadline for Iranian acquiescence to the deal to ship uranium out of the country for enrichment have been few, other than rhetoric aimed at getting nations such as China to sign on to the idea of stiff sanctions. In the meantime Iran continues to move forward without as much as a hiccup.

Words unnecessary. Actions required!

Photo courtesy of Google.

Later under questioning with her British counterpart David Miliband, Clinton said she believes a path is open to a strongly worded new U.N. Security Council resolution on Iran, which denies nuclear weapons ambitions.

Clinton declined to predict if such a resolution would include new sanctions but said the entire world has reason to be concerned about the prospect of a nuclear armed Iran.

"As I have said already, very publicly, we want to have dialogue, but six years of dialogue by my predecessor Javier Solana have not brought us to the outcome that we have wished. So we do have to consider what else needs to be done, and we stand ready to do that," she said.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy assessed that Israel "would not stand by while Iran develops nuclear weapons," Al Hayat quoted sources close to the French leader on Saturday.