Greece: Rice Go Home

aljazeera.net: Condoleezza Rice, the US secretary of state, has won no public pledge of support from Greece for punitive sanctions against Tehran, amid protests by thousands on the streets of Athens against her visit.

Rice met Costas Karamanlis, the Greek prime minister, and Dora Bakoyanni, her Greek counterpart, on Tuesday as part of a five-day trip to Europe that includes Turkey and Bulgaria.

Bakoyanni was noncommittal on Greece's stance, as a non-voting Security Council member, in a possible vote on sanctions against Iran.

"We believe there must be co-ordination within the European Union, and decisions will be taken within the framework of the Security Council," Bakoyanni said.

"We are in the middle of a diplomatic effort, which still has tools at its disposal that allow it to be effective."

As anti-American riots raged near her ministry, Bakoyannis said Iran had to provide "sufficient assurances" that it would not pursue a military nuclear programme. Read more

db: The US government is seriously contemplating using nuclear weapons against the non-nuclear Iran. Isn't it time European governments sought some "assurances" from the neocrazies in Washington?