IAEA Inspectors Tour Qom Enrichment Site

U.N. Inspectors Visit Iranian Site - Associated Press [link]

• U.N. inspectors entered a once-secret uranium enrichment facility with bunker-like construction and heavy military protection that raised Western suspicions about the extent and intent of Iran's nuclear program.
• The inspectors are expected to study plant blueprints, interview workers and take soil samples before wrapping up the three-day mission.

Germany to U.S.: Take Away Your Nukes! - TIME [link]

• Germany's new coalition government put the finishing touches to its policy program this weekend… The man designated to be foreign minister, Guido Westerwelle, is pushing or the U.S. to remove its remaining nuclear weapons from German soil.
• Chancellor Angela Merkel said that she would be seeking the withdrawal within the context of NATO, rather than as a unilateral measure. "We don't want to act in this matter on our own," she said.
• German sources estimate there could be as many as 20 nukes still in the country.

Yes, Virginia, There is a Mideast Nuke Deal - Newsweek [link]

• Iran's neighbor, the United Arab Emirates, has decided to skip the shadow games and enter the nuclear club through the front door, as it is now finalizing plans to spend $40 billion to build an estimated eight nuclear plants over the next several decades and become the first openly nuclear-powered state in the Middle East. And it is doing so with the blessing of the United States.

A Sneak Peak at Next Week's North Korea Talks - Foreign Policy's The Cable [link]

• When North Korea's lead nuclear negotiator Ri Gun makes his tour of the United States next week, all eyes will be on the State Department, which is planning to make the first face-to-face, government-to-government contact with Kim Jong Il's regime in quite a long time.

A View from the Dark Side

The Mouth that Roared - Victor Davis Hanson in the Washington Times [link]

• President Obama keeps roaring out deadlines like a lion - only later to meow like a little kitty.
• In July, our president roared out another impending deadline. He warned Iran that it had to prove its compliance with non-proliferation protocols by September - or face new consequences since the United States was not going to "wait indefinitely."
• Now it's October, and even the French are exasperated that Mr. Obama still sounds like the king of the jungle but acts like a purring house kitten.