Perfect dhimmitude

It's "let's surrender now, before it's too late" from the contemptible Polly Toynbee in The Guardian. Her piece is titled "No more fantasy diplomacy: cut a deal with the mullahs", and a better oxymoron would be hard to find.

But Polly thinks she has a way to cut a deal with the man she describes thus:

Thumbing his nose at the impotent west, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad taunts us: "Our enemies cannot do a damn thing. We do not need you at all. But you are in need of the Iranian nation." And he is absolutely right.

She points out that

fantasy diplomacy is taking a grip. The pretence is that the world united can deflect Tehran: there is still a small chance that Russia's offer to strike a deal could work. But the experts expect an aggressive stand-off, with a risk of futile air attacks. Even if no blood is spilt, the west may find itself in a cold jihad with a God-driven, nuclear-armed adversary, and no solution in sight.

I wasn't being unkind when I said she wants to surrender, just in case:

Fantasy diplomacy is ready to fight all the way to stop the mullahs getting the bomb. Reality suggests there is a difficult choice: if you cannot win, give up at once to minimise the damage.

Here is a European alternative, while

the Americans are grinding out ritual bellicose statements

I'm ashamed to be a compatriot of Ms Toynbee. But - if anyone from outside the UK is reading this - I can tell you that nobody I meet while living here in rural England, while shopping, while paying for petrol (gas), while chatting at work... NOBODY I ever meet is willing to surrender to the mad mullahs, abroad or in the UK.

And neither am I.