Iran to U.S.: Shove It

Mahmoud did speak tonight at the U.N. after all. He knows that Bush is bluffing and blustering about "not ruling out" military action. The U.S., thanks to Bush, is so over-committed that Iran knows America's hands are tied when it comes to attacking them.

Iran also knows that U.S. interests are not aligned with the other major players, Russia and China. Thanks to the dumb invasion of Iraq, and the commitment of our armed forces to that war, the U.S. has no military flexibility in dealing with Iran. Thanks to the invasion of Iraq, U.S. "intelligence" will have no credibility with the U.N., even if they get it right this time. According to the IAEA they have it wrong again, anyway.

Thanks to Bush and the invasion of Iraq, no one will believe that Iran is harboring al-Qaeda, which they probably are. An attack on Iran after the mess in Iraq will draw no allies this time.
When Tony Blair leaves office British troops will leave Iraq.

Europe, in general, has no stomach for war anymore. Iran knows that. It knows that Europe will do nothing if it continues to develop nuclear capabilities, as long as the Iranians keep negotiating.

I think that as long as Bush is in office, Europe believes it has a greater interest in keeping the U.S. from starting another war than in dealing with a nuclear Iran.

This is where Bush's policies have us. No allies, few friends, and no credibility in our foreign policy.

Altogether, I'd say Mahmoud had a much more excellent adventure today than did George.