THE NEW YORK TIMES reports that Russia is going to send Iran fuel for one of their nuclear reactors. Putin says that there will be "safeguards" to prevent Iran from using the fuel to build nuclear weapons.

Just a few days ago, of course, Vladimir Putin had expressed public agreement with Pres. Bush that Iran should not have nuclear weapons, and Bush had said that Putin could be trusted to keep his word.

We have already seen that the invasion of Iraq has done nothing to prevent "axis of evil" countries like North Korea or Iran from continuing to develop nuclear weapons programs. Syria, another "axis of evil" country, has not been persuaded to withdraw its military from Lebanon or stop supporting terrorist acts, like the recent murder of Lebanon's former prime minister. Now we see that even the Bush administration's supposed "friends" are not afraid to openly support countries the United States views as enemies.

So tell us again: How has invading and occupying Iraq reduced the threat of terrorism, or persuaded other countries to comply with Washington's orders and instructions? Are we safer yet? Are we more secure yet?