Doing nothing is itself a form of doing something

By Aussiegirl

It's 1939 all over again, and George Bush and Jack Straw are Chamberlain. When it comes to Iran, perhaps the "comfy chair" is what they have in mind.

Jerusalem Post Breaking News from Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish World

Having passed over another false crescendo, the crisis over Iran's nuclear ambitions seems to be calming down somewhat. The United Nations Security Council has danced away from the issue, at least for the time being. And the United States, having subcontracted its Iran policy to the European Union trio, shows no sign of wanting to keep the issue in the limelight.

The assumption in both Teheran and Washington is that nothing much will be done at least until June, when the G-8 summit is held in Moscow. The idea is that Russia, as the host of the G-8, will not provoke a split with the US and the EU over Iran during the Moscow summit.

There may be yet another reason why all parties to this bizarre dispute may want to cool things down - at least for a few months.

[...]When all other imaginable options appear dangerous or counterproductive there can always be a strong argument in favor of doing nothing. But it is important to remember that doing nothing is itself a form of doing something.

Right now, this "something" that the Western powers are doing amounts to a clear encouragement of the most radical factions in Teheran. And that means the coming clash, regarded by many as inevitable, will, when it comes, be that much harder on both sides.