IF THE UR WON'T LEAD HE'LL HAVE TO BE LED:

U.S., Allies Set October Target for Iran Progress: If Benchmarks on Nuclear Negotiations Aren't Met, Sanctions Would Follow; Move Is Meant to Reassure Israel, Arab States (JAY SOLOMON, 5/14/09, WSJ)

The Obama administration and its European allies are setting a target of early October to determine whether engagement with Iran is making progress or should lead to sanctions, said senior officials briefed on the policy.

They also are developing specific benchmarks to gauge Iranian behavior. Those include whether Tehran is willing to let United Nations monitors make snap inspections of Iranian nuclear facilities that are now off-limits, and whether it will agree to a "freeze for freeze" -- halting uranium enrichment in return for holding off on new economic sanctions -- as a precursor to formal negotiations.

The moves are partly driven by concerns in Israel and among Washington's Arab allies that Tehran could drag out negotiations indefinitely while advancing its nuclear program, the officials said.

When they talk about President Obama approaching the world with greater humility than W does it really have to mean that the junior partners in the Axis of Good have to beg him to do the right things?

Posted by Orrin Judd at May 14, 2009 12:09 PM