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WSJ: Moment of Truth on Iran -- The European offer means a nuclear Tehran is inevitable.
Wall Street Journal ^ | November 22, 2004 | Editorial

Posted on 11/22/2004 4:02:22 PM PST by OESY

...[T]he governments of Britain, France and Germany cut a deal with Iran whereby the Islamic Republic agreed to a temporary suspension of its nuclear-weapons programs. Yet within hours, evidence began piling up that Tehran was already in breach. What does this mean for the Bush Administration? We'll get to that in a moment, but first let's be clear on what this says about Iran's purposes, and about Europe's.

...[T]his latest agreement rehashes a similar deal reached by the same parties in October 2003. In both cases, Iran promised not to seek nuclear weapons and pledged full cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency. And in both cases, Iran was given to expect that good behavior would be rewarded by European technical aid, economic assistance and diplomatic comfort.

Iran, however, violated its 2003 commitments by continuing to enrich uranium while lying to the IAEA about it. And now, it seems, it is doing that again. It is openly converting 22 tons of uranium tetrafluoride (yellow cake) into uranium hexafluoride, which can be enriched to weapons-grade levels and suffices to make five atomic bombs. An Iranian dissident group that has been right in the past has alleged the existence of an undeclared nuclear site, run by the Ministry of Defense, in the Lavizan area of Tehran. And then there is a 1,000-page dossier, recently delivered to U.S. intelligence by a "walk-in" source, which is said to contain a blueprint for a nuclear warhead adapted to Iranian ballistic missile specifications.

All of this should make it obvious that Iran fully intends to develop the nuclear bomb into which it has sunk some $16 billion over the years. It also seems obvious that Iran is using its so-called dialogue with the Europeans to win the time and diplomatic wriggle room to do so....

(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...


TOPICS: Extended News; Foreign Affairs; Germany; News/Current Events; Russia; United Kingdom; War on Terror
KEYWORDS: afghanistan; atomicenergy; bbc; bush; caspian; china; france; gulf; iaea; iaei; iran; iraq; lebanon; proliferation; southwestasia

1 posted on 11/22/2004 4:02:23 PM PST by OESY
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To: OESY
May the Euroweenies rot in Hell!

I don't think the Americans have yet signed off on it!

The President is saying that they must open up to inspection and verification.
2 posted on 11/22/2004 4:06:02 PM PST by Ernest_at_the_Beach (A Proud member of Free Republic ~~The New Face of the Fourth Estate since 1996.)
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To: OESY

"It also seems obvious that Iran is using its so-called dialogue with the Europeans to win the time and diplomatic wriggle room"

Israel is planning a response to the Iran threat-we need to pubicly offer our support, diplomatic and military.


3 posted on 11/22/2004 4:06:23 PM PST by Spok
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To: Ernest_at_the_Beach

In other words, it will be up to the US (yet again) to save the Europeans butts.


4 posted on 11/22/2004 4:06:49 PM PST by freakboy
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To: OESY

Duh. The EU doesn't seem to care about having a nuclear weapon equiped Islamofascist state within minutes of their borders, as the rocket flies.

They've chosen to align themselves with the enemies of freedom and democracy, for short term monetary gain.

Can anyone say "scumbags"? As far as I'm concerned, Iran is NEXT on the list...


5 posted on 11/22/2004 4:08:46 PM PST by wvobiwan (Touchdown! Suckers walk...)
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Comment #6 Removed by Moderator

To: OESY

The Iranian people had better understand that if they do not overthrow the mullahs and they(the mullahs) get the bomb, they will ALL be crispy critters.


7 posted on 11/22/2004 4:24:33 PM PST by Roccus
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To: DoctorZIn

fyi


8 posted on 11/22/2004 4:28:46 PM PST by Ernest_at_the_Beach (A Proud member of Free Republic ~~The New Face of the Fourth Estate since 1996.)
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To: OESY

Hey, anyone who knows me knows I'm as gungho as any keyboard warrior can be. And I am all for bringing down the mullahs at the earliest possible moment.

But before we go to war based on unimpeachable walk-in sources, I would like to see us produce a clearly written explanation of what, finally, in the end, happened with Saddam's WMDs. We know now that Tenet swore that they were there. While I no longer have much faith in either Tenet or his politicized CIA, I still believe they were there.

I just hope our information is better this time than last. If at least one of our purposes in going in is to seize Iran's weapons, we had bloody well better know where they are. I don't want to see us go in and find nothing but empty warehouses, while our spooks are wondering aloud if, maybe, they were in that convoy that scooted across the border right before the war.


9 posted on 11/22/2004 5:22:01 PM PST by marron
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To: freakboy

In other words, it will be up to the US (yet again) to save the Europeans butts.

Not this time!


10 posted on 11/22/2004 5:49:06 PM PST by Ethyl (when)
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To: OESY
If/when they get one, the Iranian mullahs will try a nuke on Israel, and be hit by Israel in return. The EU will try to intervene in favor of Islam, since they sell to Islam, and many Muslims live in Europe.

GWB/America has no spare capacity to take on Iran, short of thermonuclear war. His/our only hope is that a democratic Iraq will be far more prosperous than a theocratic Iran. We'll have to wait and see how this one turns out. If it turns out bad, the EU will be the first victim. Islam does not look kindly on the EU's libertine lifestyle.
11 posted on 11/22/2004 5:51:44 PM PST by Woodworker
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To: OESY
It is openly converting 22 tons of uranium tetrafluoride (yellow cake) into uranium hexafluoride, which can be enriched to weapons-grade levels and suffices to make five atomic bombs.

Yellow cake is not uranium tetrafluoride (UF4), it is one of the uranium oxides (U3O8).

And one unverified "walk-in" source is evidence of nothing. Most of the information about Iraq's alleged WMD came from Mossad asset Ahmed Chalabi and was totally fabricated.

12 posted on 11/22/2004 6:23:13 PM PST by John Locke
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