Posted on 12/14/2005 12:38:56 PM PST by Esther Ruth
Shteinitz: No "Point of No Return," But Iranian Bomb Closing In 21:54 Dec 14, '05 / 13 Kislev 5766 By Hillel Fendel
Defense Committee Chairman says there's no such thing as “the point of no return” when referring to Iran's atom bomb production capabilities - but says the threat is more immediate than believed.
IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Dan Halutz told the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee on Tuesday that Iran will have reached “the point of no return” in its atom bomb building capabilities by this coming March.
Halutz emphasized, however, that despite its technological capability, Iran will not pose an immediate nuclear threat to Israel. He estimated that Iran's bomb could be ready sometime between 2007 and 2015.
Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee Chairman MK Yuval Shteinitz (Likud) did not like what he heard. "For one thing," he explained to Arutz-7 today, "the term 'point of no return' is not correct. This is an ongoing process that can be stopped at any stage, and therefore there's no point in using a term that is misleading and confusing."
Arutz-7 asked, "Isn't there a point after which the facilities can no longer be bombed because of the danger that the released radioactivity would harm the nearby civilian population?"
Shteinitz said, "No. That is true only for reactors. But Iran is using a different system, of centrifugal force, and in several different facilities in different places, and therefore this danger does not exist."
"It could be," he added, "that some people use this term - 'point of no return' - to refer to the point at which Iran will no longer require international help in developing its nuclear program. But I think they have passed this stage already. Iran is a large country, and just like the U.S. built a bomb without help in 1945, Iran can do the same in 2006."
Shteinitz patiently explained that enriching uranium is a two-step process of conversion and enrichment. "Iran has already completed the first stage," he said, "thus that they are more than half-way there. In the past half-year, Iran has converted 40 tons of natural uranium into UF6. But this is not enough. It must then be enriched, centrifugally, for many cycles, until it reaches a 90% enrichment state. That is the point at which it becomes fissile, that is, capable of being split and releasing the desired tremendous amounts of energy. This is the enriched uranium that is required for a bomb."
"Don't misunderstand me," said Shteinitz, who has a Ph.D. in philosophy. "The Iranians are well on their way to developing nuclear weapons. Time is running out. For Halutz to say that they will be ready anywhere between two and ten years from now - that's like saying nothing. In my opinion, from the time they begin the enrichment stage, they can have the bomb within 1-3 years. If they accept upon themselves the international restrictions, of course, it will take longer."
Shteinitz said that Halutz had accepted the criticism, and would no longer use the term "point of no return" in reference to Iran's nuclear program.
Mohammed El Baradei, chairman of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said earlier this month that once Iran resumes the enrichment of uranium, it will be only “a few months” away from manufacturing an atomic bomb. He went so far as to estimate that Iran would resume uranium enrichment over the next few days.
It was reported, however, that Iran's atomic chief Gholamreza Aghazadeh said that Iran will not enrich uranium for as long as it is negotiating the issue with the international community. He reiterated, however, that Iran would never give up nuclear fuel production.
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Published: 18:05 December 14, 2005 Last Update: 21:54 December 14, 2005
ping
I'd feel better if Bush had gotten his bunker-busting tactical nukes developed.
Yeah I'd like the last thoughts of those mullahs to be "what's that whistling noise overhead?"
The problem can be addressed now, which minimizes the cost in the resources listed above. Or, the problem can be addressed later, which maximizes the cost in those resources... especially in the lives category, a very precious one at that.
but says the threat is more immediate than believed
The Jews are the only ones with the Balls to do what it is going to take.
We are in a world war.
LOL! Fine by me.
anybody remember a parody of the Beach Boys' "Barbara Ann" called "Bomb Bomb Bomb Bomb Bomb Iran"? .........been gooooooooogleing like crazy and can't find it .........any help out there?
(My dachsies are helping me type. Forgive any spelling errors, please.) But I agree totally. We're in a war and we'd better recognize this and get on the ball before it's too late.
that's not the same one ........I was looking for the old one(1980?) from when Iran had the hostages ........thanx anyway
It's already too late. As it was with Egypt, Algeria, Pakistan, India, South Africa, Israel, etc. Get used to it there will be more as long as proliferation exists and nations progress. For their sake they better grow up if they're going to sit at the nuclear table.
The policy of nonproliferation served us well for about 50 years. Not too bad for a policy. However, the genie is out of the bottle. We better get used to a world in which tyrants and kooks of all sorts have nukes. We need to start figuring out how to protect ourselves. Securing the borders would be a good start. Nuclear bunker-busters, and other low-yield nukes would be a good next step.
It's time to quit this nonsense that we can't expect others not to go nuclear if we improve our arsenal. They're going to go nuclear no matter what we do.
The Iranian mullahs had best not get into a military pi$$ing contest with the Commander in Chief who has already overthrown two Islamic regimes, whose forces now encircle Iran, who does not have to worry about re-election, and who will control the world's most powerful until Jan.21, 2009.
Not to mention threatening the masters of pr-emptive military strikes and eye-for-an-eye payback, Israel.
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