Is Washington Selling Out Israel on Iran Nukes?

Many in Israel feel that Bush's backing of Mohammed El-Baradei as the IAEA director shows that the U.S. has given up on the chance that Iran's nuclear ambitions can be deterred before it builds a weapon. According to Debka,

Israel thus finds itself alone in the ring with the Iranian nuclear menace. Nothing now remains to stop Tehran attaining its goal of a nuclear bomb or bombs by the end of 2006 or early 2007 - except for the extreme eventuality of direct Israeli military action against Iran’s nuclear facilities.

I still find it hard to believe that the Bush administration would acquiesce to Iran's nuclear desires, but why it decided to change course and back El-Baradei is a tough question to answer. They wouldn't do it without getting something significant in return.