ANOTHER GREAT BENEFIT OF OBAMA'S "OUTREACH" - AT 7:58 A.M. ET:  Iran appears to be bothered by a weekend attack that killed leading members of its Revolutionary Guard, the real power in the country.  From Fox News:

The chief of Iran's Revolutionary Guard on Monday accused the United States, Britain and Pakistan of having links with the Sunni militants responsible for a homicide bombing that killed five senior Guard commanders and 37 others.

"Behind this scene are the American and British intelligence apparatus and there will have to be retaliatory measures to punish them," Major General Mohammad Ali Jafari said, vowing a "crushing" response.

Could be rhetoric, but with Iran you never know.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said those behind Sunday's bombing are hiding across the border in Pakistan, and in a phone call with his Pakistani counterpart on Monday he demanded their arrest.

Iran also made clear its nuclear intentions, for the 101st time, so Obama might finally understand.  From Reuters:

Iran will further enrich uranium itself if nuclear talks fail with the UN watchdog, Russia, France and the United States in Vienna on Monday, an Iranian official said.

"If the talks do not bring about Iran's desired result ... we will start to further enrich uranium ourselves," Ali Shirzadian, spokesman for Iran's Atomic Energy Organization, told Iran's official IRNA news agency a few hours before the talks start.

The UN nuclear watchdog will host the meeting to discuss details of sending Iran's low enriched uranium abroad for further processing and return to Tehran.

The issue was agreed "in principle" between Iran and world powers in Geneva on Oct. 1. But Iranian authorities have so far shown no public hints of flexibility over Iran's nuclear row with the West.

The UN Security Council has imposed three rounds of sanctions on Iran for refusing to stop its sensitive enrichment work.

Shirzadian said Iran had no intention of suspending its enrichment.

"Buying nuclear fuel from abroad does not mean Iran will stop its uranium enrichment activities inside the country," Shirzadian said.

COMMENT:  Another famous victory for the student government president in the White House. 

We are going nowhere fast, but Mr. Obama's eye seems to be on his Nobel acceptance speech in December, not on the real world the rest of us must live in.

October 19,  2009