SO, “axis of evil” and nukes, no existential threat.
“axis of evil” and no nukes, flaming saber rattling rhetoric about the “need” for pre-emptive strikes. This rhetoric continues to this day, including right here in a Google-searchable article from a “moderate” site. I'm certainly not arguing for any change in the news covered here, or anywhere. But think about how this sounds to Iran.

TS, if I were the leader of Iran, I'd be on a Mahattan Project emergency program to get the bomb just as soon as humanly possible. The Bush regime made it very clear that the only way to avoid talk or planning of pre-emptive strikes is to have your own nukes.

BTW, has anyone offered a “no first strike” agreement to Iran in exchange for concessions from them? As far as I know, the US has steadfastly refused to enter into ANY “no first strike” treaties. Yet that is one way to reduce the existential threat. Of course if they offered Israel one, no one would believe it, so what's the point?

Yes, I would like our nuclear arsenal gone. And having so many doesn't really make other countries NOT want to have them. But the American leadership is not openly belligerent towards another country with genocidal rhetoric. And our country is much more stable than Iran. So I sleep better with us owning nukes than Iran.

Extending your paranoia to Venezuela is a bit over the top. If Venezuela has significant uranium, OF COURSE they will develop it. They can become a very wealthy nation with their resource base. Will they develop nuclear technology too? Probably. We can't simultaneously promote civilian nuclear activities and repress any country that develops their own technology.

Truth is, we HAVE to come up with a better plan than to bomb countries into submission.

L: If you're a student of history, you'll find that various presidents thought Iran was talkable just fine. And did have good relations with Iran. To say otherwise is to not know history.

Like Jimmy Carter? Yeah that worked out real well….

Like Ronald Reagan? Yeah Iran Contra was a major success….

And of those who thought talking to Iran was just fine how many of them did with a significant positive result? Zero
The closest we got is when Khatami was in power and nothing really came of that other than sending a US wrestling team to Iran and importing pistachios.

anyhow in other related news:

Venezuela seeking uranium with Iran's help
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090925/ap_on_re_la…

PORLAMAR, Venezuela – Iran is helping to detect uranium deposits in Venezuela and initial evaluations suggest reserves are significant, President Hugo Chavez's government said Friday.
Mining Minister Rodolfo Sanz said Iran has been assisting Venezuela with geophysical survey flights and geochemical analysis of the deposits, and that evaluations “indicate the existence of uranium in western parts of the country and in Santa Elena de Uairen,” in southeastern Bolivar state.

If Iran is helping Venezuela find uranium, you gotta thing they might not be adverse to providing assistance to Hugo Chavez if he wants to build his own nuclear program. The prospsects for nuclear non-proliferation will likely go down the tube if Iran can make a bomb.

Obama is handling things fine so far — and addressing this in a grown-up, not a “nuclear-free” silly, way.