Has Obama accepted that Iran will become a nuclear power?

According to administration and military officials, the Obama administration is accelerating the deployment of missile defense systems in the Persian Gulf.  The White House has declined comment about the deployments, but the New York Times quotes unnamed officials about the aims of the moves:

“Our first goal is to deter the Iranians,” said one senior administration official. “A second is to reassure the Arab states, so they don’t feel they have to go nuclear themselves. But there is certainly an element of calming the Israelis as well.”

Today on Fox News, former U.S. ambassador to the U.N. John Bolton described the acceleration of defense systems as a continuation of policies begun in the Bush administration.  But he also expressed concern that it may be a sign that the Obama administration has accepted that Iran will become a nuclear power, and recent moves are just the first steps in extending a "defensive umbrella"  as described by Secretary of State Clinton in a warning to Iran last July.




If Ambassador Bolton is concerned that the Obama administration is resigned to a nuclear Iran, you can be sure Israel will not be calmed by a few Patriot missile systems scattered about the region.