The United States promised Wednesday to help Russia complete its push for World Trade Organisation membership before a crucial election cycle opens at the end of the year.
Since Russia wants this very badly, I wonder if Russia's stalling over Iran's nuclear plant is related.
I also wonder if this renewed cooperation against terrorism is related:
The European Union, United States and Russia on Wednesday agreed on ways in which they can cooperate more closely to combat terrorism, German Interior Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said.
And there is more:
"We are bound by the common agenda of protecting our people from terrorism and we plan on strengthening the bonds forged by difficult times."So in light of our support for Russian entry into the WTO, my assumption that we'd get something for this support, the openly proclaimed commitment against terrorism, and the timely Russian-Iranian contract dispute over Russian help for Iran's nuclear program, did we get Russia's green light to take out the mullahs in Iran?
The "worst nightmare" the countries could imagine was a nuclear attack by terrorists, said Chertoff.
An air campaign against Iran's nuclear facilities is not my favorite option for addressing the Iranian threat. We've had years now to cultivate ties inside an Iran that has many fissures.
Or am I over-estimating what our well-financed intelligence apparatus can achieve?
