German Chancellor Angela Merkel backed the possibility of stronger sanctions against Iran before she met Monday with Russian President Vladimir Putin, who planned to travel on to Teheran from Germany. Iran, Merkel was quoted by Army Radio as telling Putin, was a danger to Israel's security. The German leader said her talks with Putin would focus on the standoff with Iran over its nuclear program and the resolution of Kosovo's status... The US push for stronger sanctions against Iran over its disputed nuclear program has emerged as the theme likely to dominate the talks, with Putin set to visit Teheran after Monday's meeting.So that last sentence was kind of the reason we're not particularly hopeful on this. Unless we've missed a memo, the only thing stopping the spread of nuclear technology in the Middle East right now is the occasional Israeli bombing run over Arab territory:
Israel’s air attack on Syria last month was directed against a site that Israeli and American intelligence analysts judged was a partly constructed nuclear reactor, apparently modeled on one North Korea has used to create its stockpile of nuclear weapons fuel, according to American and foreign officials with access to the intelligence reports. The description of the target addresses one of the central mysteries surrounding the Sept. 6 attack, and suggests that Israel carried out the raid to demonstrate its determination to snuff out even a nascent nuclear project in a neighboring state. The Bush administration was divided at the time about the wisdom of Israel’s strike, American officials said, and some senior policy makers still regard the attack as premature.Or, more accurately, the occasional totally awesome Israeli bombing run over Arab territory. But want to guess which part of the Executive was against the attack? If you said "not the State Department", (a) you're wrong (b) welcome to MR. We're always glad to have new readers.
[Cross-posted to Mere Rhetoric]
