Time is almost up. According to a US Senate report, the Islamic Republic of Iran will have enough material for the production of a nuclear bomb by the end of six months. Iran is headed by supreme leader Grand Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and elected president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the latter of which has called for the elimination of Israel and has denied that the Holocaust definitely occurred. As reported before, Iran has repeatedly shrugged off UN and US economic sanctions and continued working on its nuclear program, which it insists is only for energy despite the fact that Iran has some of the world’s largest petroleum reserves.

This report comes on the heels of a recent statement by Secretary of Defense Robert Gates that reiterates the Obama administration’s policy of direct dialogue with the Iranian government. Instead of talking a harder line, the current administration believes that continuing a policy of sending seasons greetings (as Obama delivered on the Iranian new year) will somehow get the Iranians to stop their nuclear program. Maybe the White House should send a hallmark card… it could read:

We cannot allow madmen who question whether the Holocaust took place or not to possess the weapons to produce one of their own. Particularly madmen who preside over crowds screaming “Death to Israel” and “Death to America.” These demagogues need to be stopped, not encouraged by offering them any concessions or dialogue… otherwise the world may be reminded of the reason for the phrase “Never Again.”

-AG