OUR IRAN POLICY A SHAMBLES – AT 5:48 P.M. ET:  The only way we can get tough sanctions on Iran is to bring China and Russia on board.  Both have veto power in the UN Security Council.  China has given its answer.  From AP:

China does not plan to hold debates on more sanctions on Iran's nuclear program during its Security Council presidency this month, despite US demands for tougher sanctions, the Chinese ambassador to the UN said on Tuesday.

Ambassador Zhang Yesui told reporters Tuesday "this is not the right time or moment for sanctions" and that diplomats need "more time and patience" to try to bridge differences.

He said his January agenda will focus on Afghanistan, Somalia, Nepal, Ivory Coast, Kosovo, Sudan and the Middle East.

The Obama administration and its international partners had imposed an end-of-2009 deadline for Teheran to accept a UN-drafted deal to swap most of its enriched uranium for nuclear fuel. Iran dismissed the deadline.

COMMENT:  What precisely is our Iran policy?  Is anything left of it?  The deadline passed, we ignored it, and our rhetoric got dramatically softer.  If Iran gets the nuclear bomb, it will make our current terrorism concerns seem trivial.  And Iran is moving toward the bomb.  Nothing serious is being done about it.

January 5, 2010