Look closely at this and tell me what you see (bold added):

[In Monday's Telegraph] was a report "that the prime minister [Gordon Brown] was forced to dash through the kitchens of the UN in New York to secure a few minutes 'face time' with President Obama after five requests for a sit-down meeting were rejected by the White House." The headline for the column: "Barack Obama's churlishness is unforgivable."

Still the White House didn't budge. And then, in an unexpected development, Obama was forced to make a statement regarding the revelation of the secret Iranian nuclear enrichment plant. At an early-morning appearance Friday, Obama demanded Iran comply with UN Security Council resolutions on its nuclear program. And who was standing behind president as he spoke? Gordon Brown, along with French president Nicolas Sarkozy.

Looks to me like Brown and Sarkozy were going to break the news about the second Iranian facility, and describe future actions, but didn't want to cut Obama out of it — while Obama (cluelessly? disdainfully? mistakenly?) remained unaware of their plans and intentions. I'm reminded of the first several months' in office, where reports emerged that foreign countries weren't even able to figure out a phone number at which to contact the United States.

We know that Bush was apprised of this facility just a few months before leaving office, right after the election. How long had the CIA known, and been sitting on it before that? Days? Years? (I.e. didn't they notice the thing being constructed?) Did they just happen to find out right after the election, or did they fear such news would enable a McCain victory? We also know that Obama was told of it during the transition, but chose to do nothing, and keep the news hidden, until just now. How long did he plan to keep it from us?

Had (MI6, or the French and) Gordon Brown just learned of it, and was being decent and prudent — trying to clue Obama in on the impending UK and French reaction so it wouldn't look like the US had been scooped, or, worse, send an incidental signal to the Iranians that the US now cared far less about their shenanigans that the British and the French?

What do you see?

These are strange, strange days.