The state of Western foreign policy & diplomacy

I don’t believe that I’ve seen Western foreign policy & diplomacy in such a decrepit state in my lifetime. Leaders in all Western nations have shown themselves to have little backbone when facing the threat of radical Islam. They steadfastly refuse to accept the realities unfolding in front of their eyes, namely that Iran wants nuclear weapons and will not be talked out of it. Instead they create this fantasy alternate reality where Iran is a rational player in world politics that will give up their nuclear ambitions, simply because Western leaders would like them to do so. Fat chance.

I generally dislike speaking in analogies, but bear with me here as I find this one to be apt. There are times in history when international relations act like a boiling pot of water. Powerful nations can choose to lift the lid on the pot and release some steam, but they risk scalding themselves by doing so. The other option is to keep that lid on tight and hope that the water in the pot will not boil so hard as to blow the lid right off and burn everyone. In the case of Iran, the West is afraid to scald its hand; instead, it will wait until the pressure causes the pot to blow up in their faces, all out of fear of being burned. Unfortunately, you and I are in that fictional room as well, and some of us stand to be hurt pretty badly.