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I've been writing a bit about the United States machinations with Iran and the Sunni's. It appears the U.S. is looking for a negotiated way out of Iraq...at a minimum a face-saving Vietnam-like withdrawal. Well, there's yet another fly in the ointment:

First this:

Israeli leaders warned they would never allow Iran to come into possession of nuclear weapons but insisted that diplomacy was the best way to confront their arch enemies in Tehran.

"Israel, and not only Israel, cannot accept a situation in which Iran would be in possession of nuclear weapons," Prime Minister Ariel Sharon told journalists in Tel Aviv.

"We must do everything possible to prepare for such a situation. But Israel is not spearheading any campaign" against Iran's suspected nuclear weapons ambitions, he added.

"It is not only a danger for Israel but for the Middle East as a whole and for other countries."

Nevermind that Israel has an enormous nuclear arsenal. And you could argue whether they should or should not have exclusivity to nuclear weapons in the region. But given Israel's recent silence on the Iraqi issues, this statement coming out now would seem to be a shot across the bow.

But on the same day, we have this story:

JERUSALEM, Dec 1 (Reuters) - Private Israeli security firms have sent experts to Iraq's northern Kurdish region to give covert training to Kurdish security forces, an Israeli newspaper reported on Thursday.

The daily Yedioth Ahronoth said that over the past year and a half the Israeli companies had set up a secret training base in northern Iraq as part of a multi-million dollar project with the Kurdish regional government.

It said dozens of Israeli specialists had been sent to teach Kurdish forces "weapons training, self-defence and counter-terror warfare".

Does anyone really believe the Israeli's will sit back and allow a nuclear armed and greatly strengthened and expanded Islamic theocracy within missle distance? And how about Turkey? Are they going just twiddle their thumbs while the Kurds, who have a huge nationalistic ethnic population in Turkey, gain nationhood and further enhance their already strong militia?

The administrations adventure in the Middle East is, indeed, very complicated and being played out on ground covering much of the world's petroleum reserves.

As the old saying goes, "may you live in interesting times".