On Sunday came news from U.N. inspectors on the ground that Iran has made a breakthrough in their program for enrichment of uranium. It was previously thought that the Iranians were having trouble developing the tight engineering and high speeds needed to get their centrifuges to produce nuclear fuel. But inspectors, on a short-notice visit, came upon 1,300 centrifuges merrily spinning away and churning out the raw ingredient for massive carnage.
Mohamed El Baradei, the director general of the U.N. agency that won the Nobel Prize after getting it right about Saddam Hussein’s non-existent WMD program said:
“We believe they pretty much have the knowledge about how to enrich. From now on, it is simply a question of perfecting that knowledge. People will not like to hear it, but that’s a fact.”
Tehran’s religious fanatics have moved closer to the potential for nuclear conflagration and what can bully-boy Bush do about it? Nada. He shot his wad gambling on the invasion of Iraq, a nation that didn’t pose a WMD threat and now needs Iran, which the United Nations fears may pose a real threat, to bail us out in Baghdad.
Checkmate.
From the Left 
Don’t be surprised if Bush invades them anyway. He has screw up everything he tries and has not been swayed by his miserable moves in Iraq.
This is consistant with the lack of foreign policy and national security leadership we’ve seen from the Bush administration since the days and months following the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Why did George Bush and Dick Cheney go after Saddam Hussein and ignore Usama bin Laden? Historians will kick Bush’s ass over this for the next 100 years.
How embarrassing for this administration. After all the tough talk about Iran and brandishing them part of the “Axis of Evil,” now they need them to broker a politcal solution for the mess they’ve created in Iraq.
How many aircraft carriers are in the Gulf? Last count was 3. Sounds like war to me.
Let’s ne honest here. If Israel decides a nuclear Iran is a threat, the USA will step lively and begin bombing Tehran. Americans think they control foreign policy but the fact is, nothing could be further from the truth. It’s Israel who calls the shots and will determine if we go to war with Iran.
Somehow the world seemed safer when the nuclear club only had 6 members.
I think the world was more secure when no nation had the A-bomb.
To possess such technology and then claim it increases security is, in itself an oxymoron. Once one nation has it, others will follow. It becomes a pride thing.
Jesh, your spam filter doesn’t like me today.
Anyway, if Iran were successful and got ahold of a nuclear warhead, it wouldn’t be a threat to the USA — it would be a threat to Israel and by extension, drag the USA into a new war in the Middle East. One thing I think we can all agree on, a protracted nuclear war perceived to be pitting the USA & Israel against the Islamic world would be a mess and result on casualties on a large scale.
It can’t be allowed to happen.
I know I’m in the minority in saying Why shouldn’t Iran have the same capability of deterrence as Israel? Aside from the obvious, that being no weapons are best, the fact remains that Israel is the aggressive country and Iran having nuclear weapons may put it in check.
A nuclear Iran may indeed be a balance to Israeli nukes, but as mbmdl stated, if Israel feels threatened, it will “strangle the infant in the crib” so to speak and by extention involve the US.
George Bu$h has a dilema now, lower the facade, go full-time Fascist Martial Law and attack Iran with nuclear bunker-busters, preserving the petrodollar and selectively nuke certain areas in Iraq to pacify the civil war. Then it be clear that the bullshit is gone and no more spinning the “spreading democracy” crap. And garuanteeing that we’ll be the world pariah. But it won’t matter because we’ll still have the oil. Or do we keep prancing around until Bu$h leaves office and watch Iran tweek the Great Satan’s nose, get nuclear power/weapons if any, open up their oil bourse in euros and watch the petrodollar plunge and the US economy too.
Which do you think Bu$hcon/Cheneyburton will choose? I think they’re divided on it.
The anti-Israel rants are either uttered by anti-semitc Jew haters and morons.
If no arab/muslim country had weapons they would have nothing to fear from Israel.
If Israel had no weapons they would be attacked.
Israel and the United States are the Good Guys.
Having a big, goddamn gun is the best defence for sovereignty there is.
Good point mirth, but Iran may be doing themselves more harm than good by owning a bomb. They certainly wouldn’t fare well at the OK Corral. If there is any nuclear power to be feared, I would guess that it would be Pakistan. They certainly aren’t an allay with the US because it was threir idea,
Yeah, in another 50 years, every country on earth will have nukes and we can simultaneously blow the whole planet up.
And then there were 7.
Mirth,
I understand what you’re saying but I think the overriding question has become, how does global nuclear profileration make us safer?
In fact, isn’t it making the world a whole lot less safe? I can see a time in the not too distant future when there’s a world war; Christian versus Islamic and each side is nuking the other.
What will be left? And we worry about climate change?
How is it anti-Semitism to state facts? You don’t think Iran represents the biggest threat to Israel and not the U.S.? You wouldn’t agree that the U.S. would send in the big guns if Israel came under attack from Iran?
Israel is our unofficial 51st state. Our government cares more about Israel than New Orleans.
I have to agree that the closer Iran gets, the more likely it becomes that Israel will strike. I think that Iran’s push to develop nukes is motivated more by fear of the US than by antipathy toward Israel.
Agree with Larry, Bush will strike! Alas!
Think: Hiroshima. Nukes aren’t fun and they’re unforgiving.