What will they do with their nukes?

Facing Down Iran by Mark Steyn, City Journal Spring 2006

What’s the difference between a hothead and a moderate? Well, the extremist Ahmadinejad has called for Israel to be “wiped off the map,” while the moderate Rafsanjani has declared that Israel is “the most hideous occurrence in history,” which the Muslim world “will vomit out from its midst” in one blast, because “a single atomic bomb has the power to completely destroy Israel, while an Israeli counter-strike can only cause partial damage to the Islamic world.” Evidently wiping Israel off the map seems to be one of those rare points of bipartisan consensus in Tehran, the Iranian equivalent of a prescription drug plan for seniors: we’re just arguing over the details. So the question is: Will they do it? And the minute you have to ask, you know the answer. If, say, Norway or Ireland acquired nuclear weapons, we might regret the “proliferation,” but we wouldn’t have to contemplate mushroom clouds over neighboring states. In that sense, the civilized world has already lost: to enter into negotiations with a jurisdiction headed by a Holocaust-denying millenarian nut job is, in itself, an act of profound weakness—the first concession, regardless of what weaselly settlement might eventually emerge.

And it seems like only yesterday I was practicing my best elementary school "hide-under-the-desk-in-case-of-nuclear-attack" pose. It's been a long time since we worried, REALLY worried, about "the bomb". And now those ranting student kidnappers from 1979 are about to create one. I wonder when the peace people will get out and protest nuke proliferation again. If? And then, this:

Bush said in Washington he would discuss Iran's nuclear activities with China's President Hu Jintao this week and avoided ruling out nuclear retaliation if diplomatic efforts fail. Asked if options included planning for a nuclear strike, Bush replied: "All options are on the table. We want to solve this issue diplomatically and we're working hard to do so." The United States, which accuses Iran of seeking atom bombs, was expected to push for targeted sanctions against Tehran when it met the U.N. Security Council's other permanent members -- Britain, France, China and Russia -- plus Germany in Moscow.

Any guesses as to who will stand with us on this issue?