Defiance, Iran and Nuclear Power

Iran's president has decided to re-open some nuclear power plants and America, France, Germany and Britain have decided to oppose this action. I do not know why, though I would like to understand. Condoleeza Rice has publicly stated that Iran is acting in "dangerous defiance" of the "entire international community." I am sure no such community exists in reality -- surely the entire world of people outside of Iran is not united unanimously about much of anything. And "dangerous defiance," for a country with a revolutionary history such as ours, is hardly a phrase to be interpreted without qualification.

The NBC Nightly News tonight reported that the US military is so busy in Iraq that we must rely on the UN and diplomacy to align Iran's actions to our desires. I find that to be disingenuous. Surely if there is an imminent threat to the world we can spare some military force to quell Iran if necessary. I believe we, the American public, may be being "set up" for a play wherein our President is going to be portrayed as a hero of diplomacy in a drama involving Iran and nuclear power.

I'm still learning about the situation. I suppose I share the sentiment of many westerners that the Middle East is full of barbarians living a in a prolonged Medieval culture sustained by the irrationalism of fundamentalist Muslims and the wealth we provide them for their oil. This is a bias and I admit that, not having been there myself, I only know what I read in the papers and see on television. But nuclear power seems dangerous in principle and it seems arrogant of us to think only we have the right to use it. Again, this is a complicated issue and something the average American, like me, can only understand dimly and through a haze of information watered down by the news and other popular media. It returns me to the theme of government and trust. I'd like to understand it better.