El Baradei to Iran: Stop or we'll keep talking

The Associated Press tells us today:

Nobel Peace Prize laureate Mohamed El Baradei said Friday the international community is losing patience with Iran over its nuclear program. El Baradei, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said he hopes the outstanding nuclear issues with Iran will be clarified next year.

"They are inching forward and I'm asking them to leap forward," said El Baradei, who shares the award with the IAEA.
...
He encouraged European negotiators to continue talks with Iran.

Surely El Baradei knows Iran is leaping forward: Right toward development and deployment of nuclear weapons.

But look at what he proposes:

"The parties need to sit together, discuss their grievances and reach a solution," he said. "If we can do that without escalating the problem, all the much better."

Interesting advice. Talk, so long as you don't escalate the problem.

And if talks seem to escalate the problem? Why you break them off, and wait six months.

Then resume the talks, calling their resumption "progress toward a solution."

When those talks seem to escalate the problem, you start another cycle of break-off and resumption.

Enough of those cycles and you've made so much "progress toward a solution" that, like Mr. El Baradei, you're awarded the Nobel Peace prize.

He'll receive the prize Saturday at a glittering ceremony in Oslo.

The leaders of Iran's nuclear weapons program won't be able to attend. For them, Saturday is just another work day.