Cheery news from France

The New York Times on Condi Rice's visit to Paris:

"I told her that it is my sense that public opinion in Europe, and maybe even elected officials, are ready to accept the idea that Iran may have some kind of nuclear weapons capability with some limitations," said Nicole Bacharan, an expert on the United States at the Institute of Political Studies. "She was startled. She wasn't quite aware of what she is up against."

Sounds like the US may be going it alone on this. The EU certainly isn't going to stop what they are "ready to accept." So much for the "shock," reported earlier, of realizing that Iran already has missiles capable of reach all of Europe.

If the Europeans aren't hardliners on this, should the US be? It does raise some interesting issues about the so-called rights of authoritarian regimes, and even the Europeans seem to accept that Iran has one of those. They do seem shocked that Rice called the mullahs "totalitarian," tho.

How far can we reasonably go? The mullahs are likely concerned that the US now has troops to the east, troops to the west, bases to the north, and a navy to the south. To what extent are we bound to respect the rights of a government which highly restricts political candidates' right to have their names on the ballot, which executes homosexuals, executes prostitutes, and supports terrorists abroad?

Just what are the rights of the Iranian people, versus the rights of a government which seems to be of highly questionable representitiveness? Rights aside, where are the limits of our power?