According to human rights attorney, Bob Amsterdam, who appeared today on the Montel Williams show on Air America, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton sent a clear message to Iran, in her hour long appearance on Meet the Press Sunday. “It was a strong and unmistakable benchmark” that America is holding a nuclear umbrella over them. Clinton, speaking directly to Iran in her remarks, said in no uncertain terms that any attempt by Tehran to create a nuclear weapon would be met with the full ire of the United States and its allies. Said Amsterdam, Clinton was also probably hoping the Israelis were listening. “She’s trying to keep them calm,” while the State Department pursues its diplomatic strategy with Tehran. The Clinton appeal to Iran, might have been in vain, however, since Ahmadinejad, who just tried to arrange for a couple of moderates to work in his government, which might have signaled a softening of belligerence, was immediately rebuffed by the Grand Ayatolla Khomeni. Not much progress there.

Appearing prior to the Montel interview on the Lionel show on Air America, Amsterdam discussed the orchestration of the return of ousted Honduran president Zelaya by the vehemently anti-American Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez. “Chavez is supplying the planes, the cars, the press for Zelaya, hoping to create a scenario for his restoration to power. But he’s keeping attention on something that should have been resolved a month ago and keeping the focus off of what he's doing in Caracas, destroying freedoms. Chavez should realize that he has extracted all the benefits from this that he can.” Will Zelaya be arrested if he returns to Honduras? “Well, as soon as you arrest him you turn him into a martyr...What we need to do is seize the opportunity to work with Lula in Brazil and construct a new relationship so that South America and Washington can move forward working in cooperation.”