George Jonas: In the face of evil, find no comfort in pacifism

What excuses, or at least mitigates, U.S. President Barack Obama and his negotiating team’s inability to get to first base in trying to convince the current rulers of Iran to give up the idea of developing nuclear weapons, is the near-certainty that no one could.

As several pundits pointed out — most recently Reuel Marc Gerecht and Mark Dubowitz, writing in The Wall Street Journal — the ayatollahs of Tehran are resolved to have the Bomb. The only deal worthy of the name would be one that would prevent them from having it. This is an impasse that cannot be resolved by the give-and-take of negotiations, only by the imperative of force.

To avoid misunderstanding, the imperative of force doesn’t necessarily mean military measures. It means going to the negotiating table with the same resolve to withhold the Bomb from the leaders of the Islamic Revolution and their Revolutionary Guard as they have to acquire it. In this negotiating stance, military measures aren’t on the table as an option, but as the only option unless the opponent submits...