Long interesting read.
A nuclear Iran poses extreme threat to U.S.
Orde Kittrie
Special for The Republic
Dec. 5, 2004 12:00 AM
Armed only with boxcutters, the 19 al-Qaida hijackers on Sept. 11, 2001 killed 3,000 people and caused hundreds of billions of dollars in damage to New York City, the Pentagon and the global economy.
This toll pales in comparison with the damage that would be caused by a “nuclear 9/11” – a terrorist state or group using a nuclear weapon against the United States or its allies. Detonation of a single small nuclear weapon in a U.S. city such as Phoenix could kill more than 500,000 and cause over $1 trillion in damage.
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Iran’s track record
A nuclear-armed Iran would be extremely dangerous for a number of reasons. Iran’s hard-line fundamentalist regime continues to blatantly threaten the United States, which it routinely refers to as “the Great Satan.”
In May, on the first day of its new session, Iran’s parliament broke into chants of “Death to America.” At Iran’s annual military parade in September, a long-range missile had draped over it a banner proclaiming, “We will crush America under our feet.”
http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/viewpoints/articles/1205kittrie1205.html
South Korea asks U.S. to aid in hunt for subs
December 06, 2004 ¤Ñ South Korea has requested help from the U.S. Seventh Fleet in searching for submarines that have frequently been detected in the East Sea (Sea of Japan), a Navy official said.
According to a Navy official, "Kim Jong-hwan, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, recently asked Vice Admiral Jonathan W. Greenert, the commander of the U.S. Seventh Fleet, for aid in maritime patrol activities using P-3C submarine spotter planes." Admiral Greenert reportedly responded positively.
The request for support follows a failed attempt on Oct. 10 by the South Korean Navy to find an unidentified vessel, presumed to be a North Korean submarine, that showed up in the northern-most area of the East Sea.
The Navy official said that North Korea possesses more than 100 submarines.
http://joongangdaily.joins.com/200412/05/200412052214351779900090309031.html