The UN, Iran and Russia

The U.S. demonized Ahmadinejad? That’s what the new U.N. U.N. General Assembly president says. I can see his point to a degree. Part of his argument is that the U.S. vilifies one leader while supporting the likes of Pinochet and Marcos. But, then the U.N. president stated that Ahmadinejad didn’t really deny the Holocaust.

D'Escoto said he did not support Ahmadinejad's comments on Israel but questioned whether they had been made. "If he said that I think it's lamentable," he said.

To make matters worse, despite all the evidence of Genocide in Darfur, he basically stated it was just a Bush administration smokescreen that brought about an arrest warrant on March 4 for Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir for alleged war crimes. The good news is D’Escoto’s position has no real power. The sad part is much of the world will listen to him.

In other news on Iran, the Obama administration is reshaping policy. That’s not really a surprise after Secretary of State Clinton issued an invitation to a conference at The Hague. Iran has not yet responded to that invitation.

Meanwhile, the Russians are rearming, planning to spend $140 billion through 2011.

Analysts say the brief war in Georgia exposed problems with outdated equipment and practices within Russia's armed forces and led to calls for military modernisation.

The announcement also stated a primary focus of the buildup would be the strategic nuclear forces. The wave of regional conflicts causing modernization is understandable. Better ground forces and strategic planning makes sense. But, regional conflicts do not require strategic nuclear weapons.