Today’s Guardian leader expresses satisfaction that Iran has commited itself to the peaceful use of nuclear technology. Well, we can all agree that’s a good thing.
The Guardian’s take on how that situation came about is less convincing though.
It shows just what can be achieved when the European powers work together, rather than in opposition
It is a symbolic reassertion of the efficacy of diplomacy and dialogue over the use of force in international disputes.
The leader ends with a comparison between so-called European strategy and so-called American strategy. Of the latter it comments
To date, its polarising, aggressive pressure tactics have mostly made a difficult problem worse. Europe demonstrated yesterday that there is a different, more effective way. And it is not the American way.
Without re-entering the arguments relating to whether the coalition forces are right to be in Afghanistan and Iraq, which have been rehearsed here often enough, I’ve got to wonder whether the presence of US forces in two of Iran’s neighbours might also have had something to do with the decision to disavow nuclear weapons.
The Guardian leader is silent on that rather important fact in order to make a point about what it considers to be the role Europe should take in international problems. It is also silent on the fact that the Iranian regime has recently been weakened by internal demands for more democracy.
It seems the only factor in the matter important enough to be mentioned in the editorial was the fact that European leaders acted in concert.
Yeah, right.
