THE IRAN GAME

Posted at 9:54 a.m. ET

The Mumbai attack inevitably makes us think of other sources of terror, and worse than terror, around the world.  The name Iran comes up.  The mad mullahs haven't been too prominent in the news recently, but that will certainly change once Mr. Obama takes office and the issue of Iran's nuclear program comes front and center again.

But there is something else that gets our attention regarding Iran, and that is its disturbing relationship with Germany.  When Germany was reunified after the end of the Cold War - or at least the pause in the Cold War - some wondered out loud whether reunification was a good idea.  Would Germany become Germany again, returning to its bad old ways?  The answer, sadly, is that it increasingly looks that way.  No, there isn't a Hitler on the horizon, and the German army isn't massing on the French border.  But Germany has become increasingly anti-American and indifferent to Western causes.  The Wall Street Journal reports on its disturbingly close relationship with Iran, and the amorality behind it:

The recent U.N. report that Iran may have enough nuclear material to build an atomic bomb is causing concern in Germany -- not over an Islamic bomb, but over the risk of tougher U.N. sanctions.

As we said, amorality.

The German-Iranian Chamber of Commerce sponsored a seminar this week in Hamburg entitled "Iran Sanctions -- Practical Consequences for German Companies." The session was designed to help firms in "these difficult times" -- a reference to U.N. trade sanctions, not the global economy.

Our great ally.  Are you glad we rebuilt them after World War II?

As Europe's largest exporter to Iran, Germany has unique leverage over the regime. But Berlin refuses to use it. German exports to Iran are up 14.1% in the first seven months of this year. The Islamic Republic is so popular in Germany that another group, Management Circle, is planning a two-day crash course next month in Frankfurt. The program lists seven reasons for doing business with Iran, including "traditional good economic and political relations with Germany."

There was a time when German governments would feel an obligation to distance themselves from regimes that were anti-American or anti-Semitic.  Apparently, that is no longer the case, even though German Chancellor Angela Merkel is herself pro-American.

Readers may recall that Barack Obama assailed President Bush for not doing more diplomatically to contain Iran, including more vigorous sanctions. Job one on that score for Mr. Obama would seem to be persuading his many admirers in Germany. Good luck.

The question is whether Obama is willing to risk unpopularity in Germany to get our point across.  German relations with Iran, which apparently include the sale of scientific and technical equipment, are only expected to grow.

This situation has been deteriorating for some time.  There are German troops "assisting" us in Afghanistan, but they're not allowed to fight, and even their commander said this past week that their mission is a failure.

It may be time for the American people to vote with their dollars and bypass those German products until the Fatherland comes around and recognizes that it must contribute substantively to Western defense, not just take.

November 30, 2008.