No word on what kind of sanctions the president and the Europeans are willing to place on Iran for not suspending their enrichment activities or allowing more inspections but they probably won't amount to much:
Following a two-hour meeting that touched on Iran and a host of issues from climate change to trade, Bush and his European counterparts indicated they were prepared to go beyond current United Nations sanctions to try to ensure Iran does not develop a nuclear weapon.
The Islamic Republic insists its nuclear research and facilities are solely for peaceful purposes. But at the same time Tehran has stymied international inspectors from verifying the extent and nature of its program.
"Now is the time for there to be strong diplomacy," Bush said after the meeting, appearing alongside Slovenian prime minister Janez Jansa and European Commission President Jose Barroso.
"They can either face isolation, or they can have better relations with all of us," Bush said. "We'll find new sanctions if need be."
A draft statement from the U.S.-E.U. summit, which was obtained by the Associated Press, indicated that the allies were planning to target Iran's banking system unless Iran suspends its uranium enrichment program.
These sanctions would be aimed at the leadership personally and not at the country in general. It's hard to see how this would change anything except to make Iran more instransient.
No sanctions will work unless they target the people as well as the government. Unless the people start to suffer and cry for help, the mullahs will probably do nothing to stop their enrichment activities.
But at least, the president has most of the world with him at this point - as long as he doesn't bomb them. And herein lies the hypocrisy; all agree that Iran should never get nukes but when all else fails, they want the Americans to negotiate with the Iranians rather than remove the very problem they say is serious enough to cause sanctions against Iran.
I've given up trying to understand that kind of stupidity...
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