The United States and its allies and partners must not only understand Iran’s regional strategy and influence but also develop a coherent strategy of their own with which to confront them. Considering the relative economic, political, and diplomatic power of the two sides, it is unacceptable for the United States and its allies to allow Iran even such progress as it has made in these realms.

This morning, ABC aired a Barbara Walters interview with Syrian “dictator by accident” Bashar el Assad, whom she found to be “not like Qadhafi.” (Crazy does come in different flavors, Barbara.) After an airy tour around Damascus, where Walters found that “life goes on,” she took off her tour guide outfit to grill Assad gently about his reign of terror.

Former UN SecGen Kofi Annan just wrapped a breathtakingly cynical press conference in Turkey, insisting his peace plan for Syria is not dead despite new demands from the Assad regime and failure to withdraw from major city centers agreed to in the Annan plan.

The administration should have called for Assad to be overthrown five months ago or indeed five years ago, but as a practical matter right now, it's unsure whether this will have that much impact. It certainly raises the question--if that's what the president thinks--what is he prepared to do about it, if anything?

Please note that this event has been postponed.

Sanctions will not persuade the Assad regime to surrender power, and talk about an embargo on luxury goods is a cruel joke.