Obama and Middle East from Richard Baehr

After 16 months of effort, there is now the possibility of weak sanctions that will be passed by the U.N Security Council to address Iran's nuclear program. Some new Congressional sanctions will follow, though for now they are being delayed by the Administration until the U.N has acted , so Obama can first bask in his multilateral triumph, achieved by bribes to Russia, and lowering the bar on what was achieved. In essence, the Iranian nuclear problem remains alive, kicking and expanding. The threat to Israel from Iran's principal proxy army- Hezbollah, and its 40,000 rockets, has become more severe, and soon Hezbollah may have Iran's nuclear umbrella to back its provocations. . Syria has slammed back the Obama outreach effort, and the Palestinians , while waiting for Obama to deliver Israel concessions, continue to take pot shots at Israel in every international venue. Even the supposedly moderate Salam Fayyad worked overtime to keep Israel from accession to the OECD.