The one hundred and seventy sixth weekly "No shit, Sherlock" award

This week's award goes to the venerable journalist Simon Jenkins for this Comment is Free piece

'Whether it's North Korea or Iran, sanctions won't work'

No shit, Sherlock.  Sanctions won't work, but then neither will appeasement nor an invasion. So what is the solution? I'm not convinced by Simon Jenkins solution:

'Iran is a proud nation of 80 million mostly Muslim people, one of many Asian and African states struggling between theocracy and democracy, tradition and modernity. These are agonising struggles among and within peoples, to which the west has contributed nothing but hostility and belligerence. Under the cloak of "counter-terror", it has been as crass as it was during the Crusades. Of course no one wants to see nuclear weapons spread. Russia tried to stop China getting them. China tried to stop North Korea. The west tried to stop India and Pakistan, while hypocritically tolerating Israel and the replenished arsenals of France and Britain. No pressure made the slightest difference to anyone.

If Iran really wants a nuclear weapon, it will get one – the more so when it is threatened with dire retribution if it does. That is how such states react to pressure. Ever since the dodgy election of 2009, threats and sanctions have not weakened the regime's determination to proceed, but rather weakened opposition to it. If ever there was a country unlikely to respond to diplomatic bullying, it is Iran. If ever there was a country that might respond to constructive engagement, to commercial, governmental and cultural intercourse, it is also Iran. Why the west should want to make it another North Korea passes comprehension.'

Once again a liberal western journalist uses the 'crusades' as an example of crassness without noting why the crusades happened. The crusades were about taking back 'Christian' lands that had been conquered, with much loss of blood, by Islam.