Rice: The Government of Iran Has "No Legitimacy Left"

Were truer words ever spoken?

Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice says the U.S. should consider even tougher penalties against Iran's government and "be doing everything we can to bring it down."

Rice tells ABC's "This Week" that the U.S. should never take the option of military force off the table when it comes to dealing with Iran.

She says the current Iranian government is trying to obtain a nuclear weapon and has repressed its own people. Rice says "the regime has absolutely no legitimacy left."

Diplomats have told The Associated Press that the U.N. atomic agency plans to disclose intelligence this coming week suggesting that Iran made computer models of a nuclear warhead.

Iran says its nuclear program is only for peaceful aims such as energy production.

This "peaceful nuclear program" line is, of course, a big fat joke, and of course Iranian officials are already screaming that the forthcoming UN report is false and fabricated. Israel is in a very difficult position here, and the time may be fast approaching when the United States must decide once and for all whether we will make good on our promises and stand with our longtime friend and ally in the Middle East - a task with which President Obama has so far made a pretty poor showing.