Nuclear Proliferation at a Crossroads

If the Bush administration is now in peacenik mode with North Korea, why not more aggressively follow the diplomatic track with Iran?  As a result of a startling turnabout by an administration committed to wage war against “rogue nations,” it turns out offers of aid and diplomatic recognition might work wonders in stemming the spread of the nuclear threat.

BBC:

“We have more than 3,000 centrifuges working and every week a new set is installed,” Mr [Mahmoud] Ahmadinejad was quoted as saying by Iranian news agencies.

“[The world powers] were thinking that with each resolution the Iranian nation would retreat. But after each resolution the Iranian nation presented another nuclear achievement.”

The installation of 3,000 centrifuges is seen by Iran as a key medium-term goal—which it had hoped to reach by March this year—for its nuclear programme.

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AP Photo / Keystone, Salvatore Di Nolfi

North Korean negotiator Kim Gye Gwan is surrounded by reporters as he heads to meet with his U.S. counterpart in Geneva on Sunday.