We do not know very much about the decision-making process within the Obama Administration on the issue of the Iranian nuclear program. Quite clearly, the Administration is working hard to tighten sanctions in order to induce the Iranians to change their program. But we know very little about President Obama’s back-up plan. The rhetoric is that “everything” is on the table which includes a military strike. But that rhetoric could simply be a bargaining ploy. There is a constituency in the United States, however, that believes that a military attack is necessary and that constituency is applying pressure though Congress to force the Administration’s hand. This political pressure will intensify in the next two weeks before Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu visits Washington in early March. The decibel level of the rhetoric is certain to go up dramatically. To complicate matters even further, the Russians have issued a strong warning to Israel against a military strike on Iran.
The news reports out of Syria are tragic beyond measure. It appears as if the Syrian military is now shelling civilian areas indiscriminately without any pretense of a military objective. These are war crimes and the world still seems unable to mobilize itself. One wonders how the Russians and the Chinese will justify their obstruction when all the evidence comes out, as it inevitably will.
If you are interested in listening to some of the music coming out of the Egyptian revolution, you can check out this site at the Middle East Media Research Institute:
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