Doesn’t it feel like we’ve been through this Kabuki dance before with the North Koreans? Long, drawn out negotiations that eventually fail to achieve their objective. In order to achieve a satisfactory outcome in the world of diplomacy, you need an honest bargaining partner. It turns out that North Korea was not an honest partner. Does anyone really think that Iran is an honest bargaining partner? If I’m the leadership in Tehran, I’m going to string along the international community, giving the appearance that I’m interested in making a deal–as I rigorously pursue a nuclear weapons capability.  Here’s a good report from Tim Marshall of Sky News:

Tehran knows that Washington has no solid policy options.  Let’s look at a few of the options:   

Sanctions.  It’s pretty clear that the Russians and the Chinese will not support a real sanctions package that would actually compel the Iranian leadership to abandon their nuclear program.   

Use of Force.  This is not an attractive option for a variety of reasons including:  the risks of conflict escalation, U.S. resource shortages, and a lack of actionable intelligence on targets. 

Accept a Nuclear Iran.  The International Community will continue to pretend to halt what might simply be an inevitability.  A nuclear Iran would not be good for anyone except Iran.  It would alter, in a major way, the regional balance of power in the Middle East.  It may lead other Middle Eastern states to develop their own nuclear weapons capability in order to balance against Tehran.  The real kicker:  once Iran develops a long-range missile capability it will be able to hold targets in the United States at risk.  This will have serious implications for U.S. bargaining power. 

I thought President Obama was going to meet with these leaders and talk some sense into them.  Remember that promise?  If there was ever a time for Obama to use his powers of persuasion, now is the time.  Again, it looks as though the brutal realities of governing have trumped Obama’s Utopian campaign promises.