Expert: Iran Has Nuclear Bomb

Middle East Newsline ^ | 1/29/2006 | Middle East Newsline

[Dallas59]

ABU DHABI [MENL] -- Iran was said to have acquired a nuclear bomb.

A leading U.S. nuclear proliferation expert said Teheran obtained an atomic bomb about a decade ago from the nuclear black market. The expert said Iran sought to produce additional nuclear weapons through technology from Pakistan and other countries.

"The one functional device Iran has," Mansoor Ijaz, a U.S. nuclear scientist, said, "is the result of clandestine transfers from Pakistan's rogue black market nuclear scientist, Abdul Qadeer Khan, who sold the Iranians antiquated but highly effective Chinese bomb designs and parts, including spherical shell casings, spherical Krytron detonation switches and empirical software testing modules."

On Saturday, Iran threatened to launch a missile strike against the West. The commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Maj. Gen. Rahim Safavi, said Teheran could retaliate with the Shihab-3 intermediate-range missile against what he termed was British efforts to foment unrest in western Iran.

[Question_Assumptions]

To all nuclear powers and nuclear wannabe powers, the United States should make it clear that our response to any nuclear attack on America, it's overseas forces, or our closest allies (those we have joint-defense treaties with) will still be met with a MAD (Mutial Assured Destruction) response. Regardless of whether the source country has the means to destroy the United States, our response will be massive and totally destroy them. So play at your own risk, especially if you are a little country that's easy to blanket with nukes.

[dhs12345]

If not, then Israel is completely vulnerable to an attack. I would like to think that they are smarter than that. They probably have some kind of strategy for countering a missile attack.

[dhs12345]

Me too.

It was fairly effective during the first Gulf War. The technology has probably improved in 14 years, too.

Of course, any missile defense system is not 100% effective. But, I suspect that Iran only have a handful of missiles versus thousands. So targeting and shooting them down should be easier.

Presuming that they will use a missile to deliver the nuke.

[itsahoot]

They probably have some kind of strategy for countering a missile attack.

I am pretty sure the Masada option is off the table.

I think the new notion is, if we go, everybody goes.

[itsahoot]

Presuming that they will use a missile to deliver the nuke.

Using a missile is not necessary, and only invites retaliation. My guess is we already have small tactical Nukes installed in a few choice mosques both here and there, after all we have done absolutely nothing to prevent one from crossing our border.

[dhs12345]

Sounds like a reasonable strategy. Worked with the Soviet Union.

Not certain if it will work with terrorists. Then again, they have families, friends, fellow Muslims, that would die if a city were nuked.

Have a theory about terrorist: if their family, friends, their country etc. were threatened with an attack on a large scale, they probably wouldn't do it. They are not fools. And I am not referring to the individuals who are willing to blow themselves up. I am referring to the leadership.

[dhs12345]

Agreed. This is much more likely and virtually impossible to prevent.

And it has the added advantage of being difficult to trace to its origin -- was it Syria, Iran, ... or to some other country?