LOOK FOR THE FINE PRINT - AT 7:08 P.M. ET:  The U.S. will apparently push for new sanctions on Iran in January.  But the fine print here doesn't fill us with optimism.  From AP:

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Obama administration is looking to press in early January for a new round of United Nations sanctions against Iran for its continued defiance of demands to come clean about its nuclear program, U.S. officials said Friday.

As President Barack Obama's year-end deadline looms for Iran to comply with demands to prove its atomic activities are peaceful, the administration is reaching out to European allies, Russia and China to win support for new penalties at the U.N. Security Council after its membership changes Jan. 1, the officials said.

Huh?  The UN Security Council is the place where China and Russia have veto power, and China, particularly, has said it rejects stronger sanctions.  So what are we doing?

Senior U.S. diplomats, including Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and her chief deputy James Steinberg, raised the urgency of the matter with European foreign ministers at high-level meetings in Athens and Brussels this week ahead of a summit of European leaders.

Some European countries, especially France, are truly concerned about Iranian nukes.  But, in the end, they usually succumb to their trade interests and pursue, not crippling sanctions, but crippling compromises.

The official said there are still disagreements over how far to push on sanctions, noting that some moves could affect world oil markets. ''We are looking to find what everyone can agree will be most effective and have the least impact on the Iranian people,'' the official said.

It gets more pathetic as you read on.  Tehran must really be shivering over this.

The State Department said Friday the administration was hoping for a strong statement on Iran, including a mention of possible sanctions, from the Dec. 10 and 11 European Council session in Brussels.

''There will be a broad discussion on next steps in that meeting,'' spokesman Ian Kelly told reporters. ''The E.U. is expected to have a written statement on Iran.''

Nuclear negotiations with Iran are in their seventh year, and we are hoping for a strong statement.  And the man in the White House refuses to use the word "victory," even in a war speech.  Prepare for a nuclear-armed Iran.

December 4, 2009