Get a clue, Europe!

Hossein Askari, a professor of international business and international affairs at George Washington University, has an article in the Asia Times that points out what we have been hammering on here at Blog Simple: the fact that Europe is tying itself into almost complete dependence on Russian gas supplies by bowing to US pressure to isolate Iran. It is hard to conceive of a more craven and self-defeating position, but so it is.

So what's the solution? Just because it's obvious doesn't mean it shouldn't be said. I'll let Prof. Askari say it:

There is a solution to the problem at hand - accept Iran's right to peaceful nuclear enrichment accompanied with the condition that Iran will agree to a number of safeguards (including the most intrusive inspections to date) to guarantee, as much as humanly possible, that it will not develop nuclear warheads. A former senior US diplomat has put forward a similar proposal, forming a consortium to implement enrichment in Iran.

A comprehensive safeguard approach could serve as a model to enhance the future of non-proliferation and is the only peaceful approach to a resolution of the nuclear standoff with Iran.

Time is running out for Europe if it wants an alternative to a Russian monopolist for securing its energy needs. It will take time to bring additional Iranian gas on line and to build the needed pipeline system for its delivery. It is high time for Europe to abandon the notion of "secure" pipelines through Georgia and reliance on oil and gas from Russia and a Russian network for its delivery.