Iran is pressing forward with its nuclear program. The Obama administration is dithering. Bent upon getting a Security Council resolution rather than assembling a coalition of the willing, the White House and American policy is being held hostage by Russia and most of all by China. Here’s an informed prediction: if Beijing does come around and support a new round of sanctions, it will be hailed by the White House as a major breakthrough: peace in our time. But the actual sanctions will be weak to worthless. China has too much at stake in Iran as a source of energy. It also sees an opportunity to poke us in the eye.
Letting the Chinese play the role of lowest common denominator is a formula for permitting Iran to proceed on its path toward nuclear status. Assuming that the United States does not change its policy in time, and that Israel shrinks from a military task that it might not have the means to accomplish, we are approaching a point of no return.
