An ultra-intrusive approach to Iran [Lease to Detonate]

Boston Globe ^ | December 10, 2006 | By Geoffrey Forden and John Thomson

[humint]

We propose that Germany, France, and Britain form a holding company with Iran that leases Western centrifuges for a new facility in Iran. (Leasing keeps Iran from claiming that it might "own" the centrifuges and avoids legal problems that might result from such a claim.) Other important countries, such as Russia, could also join the company, though Russia might only join if it could contribute in kind rather than in hard cash. As in URENCO, the European enrichment consortium, Iran would sign a treaty not to enrich uranium anywhere else. By leasing Iran's existing centrifuges, the corporation's Western technicians could start monitoring the current Iranian facility immediately. Every day without monitoring lets Iran travel another mile down the road to mastering uranium enrichment on its own.

For economic reasons, Iranian centrifuges would be mothballed as soon as Western centrifuges can be sent into the country; Western centrifuges are that much more efficient. Shutting down Iran's work on its own centrifuges would immediately halt its quest to master the enrichment process. These Western centrifuges would be "black-boxed" -- covered so that Iran could not steal sensitive technology. A related option is to let Iran lease Russian centrifuges, which use a different enrichment method from the one Iran is trying to master. This option would speed up the process of mothballing Iranian centrifuges.

[humint]

Geoffrey Forden is a former UN weapons inspector. Sir John Thomson, a former United Kingdom permanent representative to the UN, is the founding chairman of the Nuclear Suppliers Group. Both are researchers at MIT's Program on Science, Technology and Society.

[Axlrose]

"Germany, France, and Britain " "other important countries like Russia"

Self important at best. Really important ? No.

[o_zarkman44]

OK and then Iran can lease its nukes to AlQueda and Hezbollah when they finish producing the bomb making material.

Yeah, sure.

Ever heard of government confiscation of foreign owned property?
Chavez did it in Venezuela. Mao did it in China. Castro did it in Cuba.
No nukes for Iran is the only accepted course of action.

[MHGinTN]

The entire article is based in the assumption that Iran is actually seeking enrichment for power plants ... the opposite is true (their entire agenda is the nuclear weapon) and the West cannot through half-assed economic sanctions force Iran to give up that lust for suicidal power.

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Surly this is a tongue-n-cheek article.

[Rapscallion]

Show Iran's leaders how it feels to be intimidated by terrorism. Assassinate their leaders: political, media, religious, madrasas, funders, trainers, harborers....take the gloves off.

[Valin]

For economic reasons, Iranian centrifuges would be mothballed as soon as Western centrifuges can be sent into the country;

ROTFLMAO!
How can a satirist expect to make a living when we see statements like this.

"Nothing in all the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity."
Martin Luther King Jr.

[null and void]

It is a surly tongue in cheek article.

And stop calling me Shirley...

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Sorry about that, won't happen again. ;-)

[null and void]

;^P