The Bush Administration Paradox with Iran.

Iran leaders, and particularly Mahmoud Ahmadinejad should be a cause for international concern. However, many commentators have failed to notice the paradox of the Bush administration trying to gain international support for action against Iran for not complying with the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, which it has signed. After all, the Bush doctrine can be summed up in the word "unilateralism". The United-States has not only walked away from several international agreements, - including the Kyoto climate accord and a treaty to eliminate land mines, it has also unilaterally terminated the Anti-Ballistic Missile agreement with Russia and opposed the creation of an International Criminal Court. But most of all, there is the war in Iraq which lacked unequivocal legitimate basis. More recently, the nomination of John R. Bolton to the UN - Bolton has been a blunt-spoken conservative known for his sharp skepticism of the United Nations and international diplomacy - was another sign of Bush's utter contempt for multilateralism.

As Hans Blix, the former chief UN weapons inspector, puts it (IHT article here), the American unwillingness to cooperate in international arms agreements is undermining efforts to curb nuclear weapons. In some ways, the international deadlock with Iran can thus be partly explained by "an increased U.S. skepticism regarding the effectiveness of international institutions and instruments, coupled with a drive for freedom of action to maintain an absolute global superiority in weaponry and means of their delivery.".

That may also be why the present somewhat unpopular Iranian government is gaining popularity in the streets of Tehran.