Iran: the Next Focus

Dubya is not the only one who has turned his eyes toward Iran. There were some unverifiable rumors earlier this month that the Prez has already begun mobilizing the military to prepare for a strike. This has not been independently verified.

However, now Pooty-Poot Putin has turned his eyes to Iran. What will this mean for the prospect of Peace in the Middle East? IMHO, I think it means that the bloodshed and "Shock and Awe" (God, I hated Bush for saying that! Such unmitigated arrogance!!!) will spread to Iran. And this time it will be a battle ground for world powers (U.S., Russia, China, perhaps others) with the Iranians flattened like pancakes on ground zero.

In this case I would be more than pleased to be wrong, but things are heating up in that direction.

Iran now wants nukes and are threatening to develop them if they don't get their way (Read it here) They're willing to put their money where their mouth is (Read it here), but Dubya is saying this is a stunt, in an attempt to call Iran's bluff. I suppose Dubya is stalling for time, and in the process making sure the world knows that our Cowboy President is giving Tehran every opportunity to back down beore we drop the big one on them and start WWIII.

Meanwhile, Pooty-Poot has visited Cairo and proposed his own middle-east summit (read it here). Is he competing with Dubya? I suppose he's trying to look like the good guy, but if there's a Big War, will both presidents wear a white hat? Hmmmm...

So what happens if the talks fail? This is from the BBC again:

The E3 and the US would request the IAEA to report Iran to the Security Council for its original failure to declare its enrichment effort. They would then call on the Council to tell Iran to stop enriching or face sanctions. Whether the Council would agree is not known. China and Russia, with veto power on the Council, have interests in Iran. China buys Iranian oil and Russia is helping Iran complete a nuclear power station for which it will supply fuel. (Emphasis mine)

Might the US or Israel bomb Iran if there is no solution?

The US has said publicly that it will not permit Iran to develop nuclear weapons. President Bush has said that he wants diplomacy to solve this but that nothing is ruled out. (Read: "Yes")

There have been press reports that Israel, which bombed an Iraqi reactor in 1981, has begun the planning for a possible raid. Like the US, Israel says that diplomacy is the priority. [/i]

( Read it here )