Speaking at his last US-EU summit, President Bush declared ” Iran with a nuclear weapon would be incredibly dangerous to world peace.” “They can either face isolation or they can have a better relationship with all of us if they verifiably suspend their nuclear enrichment programme,” he said.

“They’ve ignored the IAEA [International Atomic Energy Agency] in the past and therefore they can’t be trusted with enrichment.”

According to the Associated Press, Bush and the EU leaders are poised to threaten Iran with further financial sanctions.  

Well, at least they’re still talking about sanctions and not airstrikes…

Of course, we all have a reason to be wary, as this Administration talked almost the exact same game in the run-up to the Iraq invasion. As last Saturday’s nearly $11 spike in oil prices demonstrated, much of the world is also still concerned about not only the growing talk of a US and/or Israeli military strike against Iran, but also the disastrous consequences it would have for the stability of the region and the global economy as well.

I really can’t sum up my thoughts on the irrational fears of Iran’s alleged nuclear program better than retired  General John Abizaid who said “the world could abide nuclear Iran.”

 “Iran is not a suicide nation. I mean, they may have some people in charge that don’t appear to be rational, but I doubt that the Iranians intend to attack us with a nuclear weapon.”

While I certainly agree that the potential of illegal nuclear proliferation is a problem with any nation, we need to proceed without the hysteria that is being whipped up over Iran. Again, it seems like we’ve already seen this show once before from the Bush administration over Iraq, and look how well that turned out!

Last month, The oil economist Dr Mamdouh Salameh, who advises both the World Bank and the UN Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO), stated that that the price of oil would now be no more than $40 a barrel had it not been for the Iraq war.

We need to understand that so much of the current economic crisis we currently face is directly tied to the consequences of the Iraq war. Ending the occupation there and resolving to engage all the players in the region in tough but fair negotions is not only vital for the Middle East, but for America as well.

Many world leaders, economists, investors, and ordinary citizens around the world already understand this all too well, and when we hear talk of military action against Iran from this Administration or the current crop pf political candidates, it should make us all wonder what is truly “incredibly dangerous to world peace.”