The President of Nuclear Proliferation.

American rhetoric regarding Iran has been in decline over recent weeks, especially since Russia and China refused to play along with the US plans for sanctions on Iran through the UN.

Now, in a move that seems to signal that Iran will one day have a nuclear weapon and that there's nothing the US can do about it, the US are proposing to install an anti-missile defence system in central Europe to counter any future attack from a nuclear-armed Iran.

This is a startling development and further proof that Ahmadinejad has called Bush's bluff.

The most likely base for the system is Poland, followed by the Czech Republic, officials said. For the moment, the scheme ­ first reported in The New York Times this week and which would parallel the anti-missile shield under construction in Alaska and California against attacks from North Korea ­ is largely symbolic and hypothetical.

Iran currently has no weapons capable of hitting western Europe, let alone an intercontinental missile that could strike the United States. But as a showdown moves closer between the West and Tehran over its uranium-enrichment programme, and with the Israeli Prime Minister in Washington warning that Iran represents a threat not only to Israel but to Western civilisation, the US is determined to send another signal of its determination to act.

That's hardly a "signal of it's determination to act" as much as it is a sign of US impotence to face down the Iranians thanks to the mess that Bush has created in Iraq.

There are many of us who have long argued that Bush simply doesn't have a military option when it comes to dealing with Iran and that a diplomatic solution would have to be reached.

It's also no surprise that Bush's proposed solution should be one that racks up international tension rather than one that addresses the issue. It appears to be the only way that Bush knows how to respond.

The Russians have understandably reacted badly to this.

The new shield would bring a direct US military presence deeper into Europe. And for Russia, the project reeks of American encroachment into what used to be its own sphere of influence. The move would have "a negative impact on the whole Euro-Atlantic security system", Sergei Ivanov, the Russian Defence Minister, told a Belarus newspaper, hinting at further strain on ever-delicate relations between Russia and Nato. The mooted site for the system was "dubious, to put it mildly", he said.

And all this tension is being caused by the US reaction to a country that is still a decade away from having a nuclear bomb.

I've long argued that Bush's problem regarding the Iranians is that he lacks a plan A, never mind a plan B.

This is further proof of this.

The Iranians have long argued that they have no plans to build a bomb. Bush's insane refusal to enter into negotiations with the Iranians, to ensure that this can be guaranteed through international inspections, has led us to the current precipice.

The North Koreans developed a nuclear weapon capability on Bush's watch, largely because he refused to talk to them.

By refusing to talk to the Iranians, and by taking steps that seem to assume Iran will one day possess a nuclear weapon, Bush appears to be saying that Iran will be allowed to do the same.

He really is the President of nuclear proliferation.

I've said it before and I'll say it again. Worst. President. Ever.

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Tags: Bush, Iran, US, UN, diplomacy, Ahmadinejad, nuclear, Condi, Bolton, Security Council, Sanctions, Poland, anti-missile, defence, system, Star wars,