Many people have been so distracted by Obama's horrendous stimulus package and the rank incompetence he displayed in picking a staff that they've failed to notice how his weakness is encouraging our enemies around the world.

Iran, which has correctly pegged Obama as a weakling that they can push around, is already making a mockery of his naive proclamation that he supported "unconditional talks,"

A senior adviser to Iran's president says dialogue with the US will succeed only if the Obama administration accepts Tehran's right to have a nuclear programme.

Mojtaba Samareh-Hashemi, right-hand man to Mahmoud Ahmadi-Nejad, the fundamentalist president, said, in an interview with the Financial Times, Tehran was studying its options, just as the new US administration was reviewing its Iran policy.

The US hopes to engage with Iran and persuade the country to halt its uranium enrichment activities, the most sensitive part of the nuclear programme, and withdraw its support for militant groups in the region.

...The launch of a homemade Iranian satellite on Tuesday further raised concerns among western powers that Iran was accelerating its development of ballistic missile technology.

But Iran too has a list of demands requiring US policy shifts.

On some issues - such as the removal of US troops from Iraq and stabilising Afghanistan - Iran and the US can find common ground.

Others, particularly Iran's claim that its nuclear programme is peaceful in nature and so advanced that it has become a fact on the ground, could prove the two sides' differences are irreconcilable.

"If [US] policies change the two nations will get closer to each other, the two governments will get closer to each other and the chances for dialogue and co-operation will succeed," said Mr Samareh.

"The policy of [George W.] Bush was to use this [the nuclear issue] as an excuse to stand up against the Iranian nation.

"For there to be change, this policy has to change." In Afghanistan, he said, Iran was expecting a more robust effort to fight opium production.

Another big concern for Tehran were US attempts to negotiate with elements of the Taliban, the radical Sunni group ousted from power and seen by Tehran as a security threat.

"When the US goes into Afghanistan under the pretext of fighting illegal groups how can it enter into negotiations with them?" said Mr Samareh.

He also pointed to the Bush administration's support for Israel during conflicts such as the offensive in Gaza against Hamas, which is supported by Iran, and the 2006 Israeli war against Hizbollah, another Iran-backed group.

In both cases the US sought to delay the passing of a UN ceasefire resolution.

"Is the new US administration going to continue these policies? If it does, then nothing will change," he said.

So, Obama will just have to allow those crazies to have nuclear weapons, which will touch off a Middle-East-wide arms race, perhaps a nuclear war with Israel, and will at a minimum, result in nuclear blackmail being used against the US in the future. It could also lead to nuclear weapons going off in American cities. Additionally, we'll also need to abandon Iraq and Israel as well and then perhaps we can sign some face saving, meaningless treaty that won't really accomplish anything so Obama can pretend that toothless diplomacy alone worked -- unless they have some other hoops for Obama to jump through before we can get around to that.

Obama is a babe in the woods -- and the woods are full of wolves, none of which are going to stop trying to chew his face off just because he says "nice doggie" a few times.

Put plainly, the world is going to significantly and irrevocably change for the worse for the US, for Israel, for the whole Middle East, and for the world if Iran gets nuclear weapons. Barack Obama needs to do whatever it takes, from negotiations, to sanctions, to encouraging Israel to attack, to all out war if need be, to stop Iran from getting nukes. If he doesn't, history will rightfully damn him for his terrible failure.