[LibWhacker]

Iran's first successful attempt to enrich uranium, announced Tuesday by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, was accomplished with just 164 centrifuges.

I surprised how many people actually believed him. Surely, it's highly classified and he's not going to tell his enemy exactly where he is in the development of muclear weapons. Either they achieved enrichment a long time ago and are trying to hide from us how far along they really are, or they're bluffing and are nowhere close. imo

[GSlob]

" Either they achieved enrichment a long time ago and are trying to hide from us how far along they really are, or they're bluffing and are nowhere close."
Then take the midpoint - i.e. more or less what he was saying - and you will not be that far from the truth. And then correct it so as to err on the side of caution - i.e. they are probably more advanced than he tells, but not radically.

[hummingbird]

I surprised how many people actually believed him. Surely, it's highly classified and he's not going to tell his enemy exactly where he is in the development of nuclear weapons. Either they achieved enrichment a long time ago and are trying to hide from us how far along they really are, or they're bluffing and are nowhere close. imo

I've been wondering along a similar line, too, ever since the celebration with dancers and enriched uranium as part of the act.

Saddam was a lot of bluff. On the other hand, maybe Ahmadinejad is doing a double-back bluff...counting on us thinking he's bluffing when he's really got the goods.

Maybe he's got what he says but maybe he sees the room closing in on him and he's got nothing.

[Robert A Cook PE]

Mo, I think that he announced exactly what happened, just as soon as it happened.

He (like most/all liberals) HATES Bush, and is doing this to rub Bush's nose in the fact that he DOES has enriched U235 now.

Now, real facts: Enriched U235 from so few centrifuges, isn't enough to light a candle, much less a reaction in a bomb.

Days Nah. Months - many months perhaps, but not years.

Figure the Manhattan project went about 8 months from "pile" to one bomb. And that was with many thousands of centrifuges. Add a little machining time and assembly. Not much, it won't take long to make the cannon-style bomb, but they do need more than just enriched U235.