Posted on 12/19/2006 8:08:41 AM PST by meg88
IRAN was on course to acquire nuclear weapons by 2009 or 2010, the head of Mossad, Meir Dagan, told the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defence Committee yesterday. But the Israeli espionage chief appeared to refute a claim by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad that Iran would be able to issue an announcement in four months that would change the strategic balance in the Middle East.
Mr Ahmadinejad's statement, made to visiting Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniya last week, was taken by many to mean that Iran would announce that it had successfully enriched uranium, a major step towards production of nuclear weapons. Tehran began its enrichment program last summer.
Mr Dagan told the committee that Mr Ahmadinejad wanted to have 3000 centrifugal processors emplaced in bunkers by next March but that Mossad did not believe it would happen until the end of next year.
If there were "no sanctions on Iran and no technological holdups", Iran could have 25kg of enriched uranium in 2008 and a nuclear warhead within a year or two after that, he said. Mr Dagan said the Iranians were encountering technological problems they had not yet overcome.
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert praised Mr Dagan yesterday as "a very serious man doing extraordinary work".
Mr Dagan told the Knesset committee that hasty US pullout from Iraq would be a disaster that would change the geo-political situation in the Middle East and provide al-Qa'ida with victory.
Asked about Syrian peace offers made to Israel in recent days, Mr Dagan said Syrian President Bashar Assad was interested in entering into peace talks in order only to alleviate international pressures on him for Syria's alleged involvement in the murder of former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Harari and for the passage through Syria of Sunni insurgents operating in Iraq
(Excerpt) Read more at theaustralian.news.com.au ...
2009 or 2010 if they make them
2006 or 2007 if they buy them
If it was up to me they'd have them already!
I thought it said they would "get nuked" by 2010.
Oh well.
I've always wondered about these so called "technical issues" in articles like this. If it refers to the lack of some kind of technology, that could be one thing ... but that would most liklely be overcome fairly easily via black market means.
The "know how," though, I question. Iran has key friends in Russia, China, N. Korea, and Pakistan that have all overcome these technical issues and some in these countries, esp N. Korea and Pakistan, seem very intertested in providing Iran technology and info on this process. If they already have overcome these issues, why would they be issues for Iran? They have what seems to be open sources for info on how to build nukes from "a" to "z," what technical issues could possibly trump that?
Iran to get nuked by 2009 http://sacredscoop.com
That is probably the really big story. Every estimate seems to push back the date of success by a year or two, as if to say to us, "don't worry." The news media wants to lull us into a false sense of security. Don't worry, it can wait until the Democrats take over the White House. Of course, by then we will have blown our opportunity to put the smackdown on them, but we blew the first opportunity when we peed ourselves over the hostage situation in 1979. So really, we cannot win against Iran, when the leftists in America are their biggest allies.
I think this information should be heeded.
Keep in mind also, AQ has said in interviews their timeframe is 2010-2013. I would expect some collaboration as Timmerman has suggested, however unlikely that may seem despite the Sunni-Shia differences. Hatred of us will probably override the theological arguments.
misinformation by the israelis. it buys them time for the iranians to believe that the israelis believe that they wont have the bomb until them. my guess is more like 2008.
We are burning daylight, and wasting time. The Iranians are not burning daylightm, and they are not wasting time. They are providing terrorists with weapons, they have Iraqi aircraft with the capability to deliver a nuke anywhere in their vicinity - let alone a missile capability provided by the Chines/Russians, and N.Koreans.
We are wasting time - these people are not going to wait. We have to eliminate the threat.
"2009 or 2010 if they make them
2006 or 2007 if they buy them"
Good point and I wager they already have a couple thanks to our good pals, Russia, China and North Korea. This uranium nonsense in the press is irratating me, because no one either states or understands that Iran is building a plutonium reactor with Russian assistance. The uranium will only be used in conjuction with the plutonium for more powerful hydrogen bombs. Russia has done a total about face away from the West in the past five years. The Russians could end the majority of the real threat any time they wanted to by simply dismantling the Bueshwar plutionum plant and sending their scientists home. Tells you something omnimous about Russia and our lack of facing up to them now doesn't it?
"That is probably the really big story. Every estimate seems to push back the date of success by a year or two, as if to say to us, "don't worry." The news media wants to lull us into a false sense of security. Don't worry, it can wait until the Democrats take over the White House. Of course, by then we will have blown our opportunity to put the smackdown on them, but we blew the first opportunity when we peed ourselves over the hostage situation in 1979. So really, we cannot win against Iran, when the leftists in America are their biggest allies."
Well put. Same thing happened in North Korea where the CIA stated they believed North Korea had at least four atomic bombs in 1994 but for some reason their was all this media hooplah in the media about North Korea 'going nuclear'.
"We are burning daylight, and wasting time. The Iranians are not burning daylightm, and they are not wasting time. They are providing terrorists with weapons, they have Iraqi aircraft with the capability to deliver a nuke anywhere in their vicinity - let alone a missile capability provided by the Chines/Russians, and N.Koreans.
We are wasting time - these people are not going to wait. We have to eliminate the threat."
Amen and immediately. Consider the loose axis of evil coalition of Russia/China/Iran/Syria/North Korea. Think about this in terms of timing of the next conflict and why this is likely sooner rather then later:
1) The axis above has their own energy supply. You need this wage war. These countries do not have to destroy us completely to turn us into a 3rd world country. They need only disrupt the supply for 6 months. Air power runs on jet fuel. They would have it, we wouldn't. We would not necessarily ever be invaded as we are well armed citizens, but an air force could essentially control us while they attacked regional neighbors for power grab. We are a decade away from having the majority of our energy sources being produced domestically. Our enemies KNOW THIS.
2) China is a big concern. They can wreak much economic destruction upon us ebcause of the trillion+ dollars treasury bonds they own. In effect, China supports a large amount of our military expenditure. Add to that they have inflaltrated South America and Mexico and have massive global shipping (Hutchison Whampoa) controlled by the PRC. They could cause us a deep recession and stop delivering millions of pounds of raw commodities to the West coast, OVERNIGHT. Oh yeah, we are a debtor nation to the tune of 7 trillion dollars. Any big financial imbalances hitting us at once would have a dramatic impact on the big financial corporations tricking straight down to you and I.
3) Militarily, we have stretched ourselves thin. Our nation is one divided over the Iraq issue and the Dems have signaled to all our enemies we are weak. This may not be correct, but many nations have underestimated us based on our goodwill and politics.
4) Russia and China have leaders that from the Communist era. The younger generation has seen freedom and has had the ability to think for themselves. The younger people I talk to in both countries hate Communism and fully want democracy. However, your really talking about 20 to 30 years from now if you think in real terms of how free thought spread over the Internet and when it really began (mid-90's)
If global war has not broken out in a decade I will be hugely relieved because my belief is that the odds of a massive global conflict decrease from then.
Question: With all its oil reserves, why does Iran need nuclear power?
Answer: What has Iran been saying they are trying to achieve?
Answer to my question: The total erradication of Isreal, which means the U.S. would really be embroiled in a good fight, unfortunately the direction the U.S. leadership is taking, we are looking at a severe nose dive in the initiative department, which eventually affects the leadership department, especially when we count on input from Kofe "cup" Annan, and leftist political leaders of the Senate and the House.
What happened to the days when a President could scratch his nuts in public, and just smile at the press as they shook in their tennis shoes?
SS
Good points. It is a troubling time.
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