June 21, 2006

Axis of Evil Two-Step?

Is it just me, or does the timing of North Korea's potential missile test come at a pretty good time for the Iranians? "Regime insiders" have recently told Gareth Smyth in Teheran that they are "ready to limit" Iran's "nuclear programme but will not suspend uranium enrichment as a condition for talks", doubtless a tactic to peel the Russians and Chinese away from Condi's quite deft recent orchestrations that provided, however fleetingly, for a sense of international unity among the major powers re: Iran. While I'm not sure this Iranian maneuvering will work (dividing the Big 5), and there are of course several more weeks for all this to play out regardless, it's certainly safe to say that a North Korean missile test would change the international community's focus for a spell, no? The "axis of evil" at work, you might say. Kim Jong distracts attention from Ahmadi-Nejad, the better for the latter to purchase North Korean missiles in the future, tested ones, to boot....

Posted by Gregory at June 21, 2006 04:49 AM