Can We Stop the Iran Scam Now?
In January, I wrote an extensive post about whether Iran posed a nuclear threat where I suggested that the Bush Administration was attempting to shape the debate about Iran policy based upon flawed or inaccurate information.
Today, I see this report (PDF) which confirms some of the information stated by sources I cited in my post; namely, that Iran abandoned their nuclear weapons program in 2003 and could not produce enough enriched uranium for at least 5-7 years if they decided to restart the program.
“We judge with moderate confidence that the earliest possible date Iran would be technically capable of producing enough highly enriched uranium for a weapon is late 2009, but that this is very unlikely,” the report says. A more likely time frame for that production is between 2010 and 2015, it concludes.
Here is another important point:
The International Atomic Energy Agency, the U.N. nuclear watchdog, has reported that Iran is cooperating with inspectors by providing access to declared nuclear material, documents and facilities. However, the agency also said Iran is withholding information in other areas, and as a result, the IAEA’s knowledge about the status of the program is “diminishing.”
This also follows the sources I cited.
Here is the bottom line on Iran: They do not have an active nuclear weapons program today. They could certainly restart their program and in the span of a few years, develop a viable nuclear weapon. Possibilities are not an excuse for aggression. The Bush administration would do well to sit down at the diplomacy table with Iran and stop threatening them.
No matter how obnoxious anyone thinks the current leadership in Tehran is, we owe it to our people and theirs to open up diplomatic channels and begin a meaningful dialogue toward peace and some sort of agreement about Iran that does not include our weapons being turned on their country.