(Has the Iran Media Blitz begun?)
Fox News
9-02-07
French Leader Addresses Iran's Nuclear Program, While Democrats Remain Passive
By Lt. Col. Oliver North
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,295237,00.htmlLONDON, UK — If September goes as August ended, this is going to be a very interesting month. On Monday, President Bush told the American Legion in Reno, Nev. that two dangerous strands of Islamic extremism are converging in Iraq, “supported and embodied by the regime that sits in Tehran.” He went on to warn that the Iranians “must halt these actions.”
Earlier that same day, French President Nicolas Sarkozy observed that Iran’s nuclear ambitions present “catastrophic” alternatives: “an Iranian bomb or the bombing of Iran.” Both Messer’s Bush and Sarkozy are correct — though it may shock liberal Democrats to see the French standing side by side with the United States on an issue none of their candidates for president wants to talk about.
Importantly, within hours of the U.S. and French presidents’ remarks, Iranian Head of State, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad observed that U.S. influence in Iraq is “being destroyed rapidly” and that “Iran is willing to fill this void.”
A U.S. State Department spokesman rushed to the microphones to understate the obvious, by forcefully noting that Mr. Ahmadinejad’s threats were “unhelpful.”
And therein lies the problem: for the first time in decades, the French government is allied with a U.S. administration on the threat posed by Iran. For months, Mr. Bush has been trying to build international support for stronger measures against Iran’s nuclear weapons program and Tehran’s proclivity to foment sectarian violence in Iraq. Yet, all the State Department can do is observe that the Iranians are being “unhelpful.”
As the Democrat-led Congress returns to “work” this week, it is likely to be equally passive when it comes to dealing with the real threats facing the United States. Though General Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker have yet to deliver their report on the effectiveness of the “surge” in Iraq, Democrat leaders — and their candidates for president — have already staked out what they think is important.