Iran Redux

the roundup:

the israeli president is stating that iran finances terrorism in the west bank. i think it's likely that this is true. even saddam gave money to the families of palestinian suicide bombers.

another snippet from the news:

A leading Israeli think-tank also warned against Iran's efforts to develop nuclear weapons but assessed that with world attention rising to that danger, the United States seems "closer to the possible use of force to prevent Iran completing its nuclear program".

However, it said that US difficulties in pacifying Iraq had distracted Washington from its war on terrorism, while Iraq itself had become a "locus of terror".

so, maybe it's not such an indistinct possibility that the us will take action against iran for its nuclear program. i also don't trust the iranian government's assertions that they aren't developing nuclear weapons.

unfortunately, our military is bogged down in iraq, so it's really unclear how we could respond to a nuclear threat from iran. given how badly things have gone in iraq, i am really quite afraid that a military engagement in iran could just as easily spiral out of control. their army is in a lot better shape than iraq's was before the invasion.

is the part where we bend over and kiss our asses goodbye?

update:

still trawling google news. israel's opposition leader is downplaying the possibility of an israeli military strike on iran's nuclear facilities.

iran just rejected the EU's proposal to end their uranium enrichment program.

bulgaria is denying that it discussed a military strike on iran during an october 9th meeting with donald rumsfeld.