Two Months?

Why does Iran need two months to prepare a response to the West's proposals for dealing with the nuclear crisis? That's the multibillion dollar question:

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Wednesday that Iran will respond in mid-August to the package of incentives on its nuclear program offered by the West, but President Bush accused Tehran of dragging its feet.

"We are studying the proposals. Hopefully, we will present our views about the package by mid-August," Ahmadinejad told a crowd in western Iran in a speech broadcast live on state television.

Speaking at an annual U.S.-European Union summit in Vienna, Austria, Bush said that the mid-August timetable "seems like an awfully long time" to wait for an answer.

Is it to provide yet more time for the Iranian scientists to perfect their enrichment technologies to begin producing sufficient weapons grade uranium for nuclear weapons? That's a distinct possibility as the Iranians had wanted to significantly ramp up their centrifuge cascades to about 3,000 by the end of the year from about 100.

Ed Morrissey draws a similar conclusion.

Meanwhile the Guardian claims that Iranian 'president' Ahmadinejad has a 70% approval rating. I'm frankly surprised that it's that low. Someone is gonna pay for that!*

And yet when you read the article you find out this surprising tidbit:

"He's more popular now than a year ago. He's on the rise," said Nasser Hadian-Jazy, a professor of political science at Tehran University. "I guess he has a 70% approval rating right now. He portrays himself as a simple man doing an honest job. He's comfortable communicating with ordinary people."

While there are no reliable national opinion polls in Iran, western diplomats acknowledged that support for Mr Ahmadinejad is growing, defying widespread predictions after last June's election that he would not last more than three months.

So, the 70% figure is pulled from Hadian-Jazy's head and there is no reliable indiciation of the amount of support for the regime. Does anyone think that Hadian-Jazy would say or do anything that might jeopardize his position like suggesting that support for Ahmadinejad is anything but strong?

*Rantings of a Sandmonkey also notes the nonsensical statistics but provides a reason that Ahmadinejad's popularity has grown - he's increased salaries of government workers - that the Guardian article doesn't even acknowledge. Money might not always buy happiness, but it will certainly improve your popularity in nonsensical 'polls' when the money is given out to government workers.