Posted on 10/03/2009 1:21:37 PM PDT by maquiladora
Senior staff members of the United Nations nuclear agency have concluded in a confidential analysis that Iran has acquired “sufficient information to be able to design and produce a workable” atom bomb.
(snip)
Two years ago, American intelligence agencies published a detailed report concluding that Tehran halted its efforts to design a nuclear weapon in 2003. But in recent months, Britain has joined France, Germany and Israel in disputing that conclusion, saying the work has been resumed.
A senior American official said last week that the United States was now re-evaluating its 2007 conclusions.
The atomic agency’s report also presents evidence that beyond improving upon bomb-making information gathered from rogue nuclear experts around the world, Iran has done extensive research and testing on how to fashion the components of a weapon. It does not say how far that work has progressed.
The report, titled “Possible Military Dimensions of Iran’s Nuclear Program,” was produced in consultation with a range of nuclear weapons experts inside and outside the agency. It draws a picture of a complex program, run by Iran’s Ministry of Defense, “aimed at the development of a nuclear payload to be delivered using the Shahab 3 missile system,” Iran’s medium-range missile, which can strike the Middle East and parts of Europe. The program, according to the report, apparently began in early 2002.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
There was a military guy from the first Bush administration on Huckabee and he said he thought Israel could strike in the next two months. You know there are C.I.A. people in Iran with the protesters. Can’t imagine what gasoline will cost if Iran closes the Straits of Hormuz.
If the Straits are closed by Iran and gas prices sky rocket Russia will be sitting pretty.
Iran is at least 10 YEARS away from making a bomb so don’t worry about it.
-liberal talking points 2007
How will they close it? I confess ignorance concerning the tactics used in the Straits of Hormuz and how that is retaliation against Israel.
There are a variety of ways Iran could block the Straits of Hormuz:
— Sinking ships in the narrow in and outs of Hormuz.
— Submarines
— Missiles
— Mines/minefields
— Etc.
Just early this year, I did an in-depth paper for an academic conference on international terrorism in the Horn of Africa region and postulated that the Straits of Hormuz and Bab-el-Mandeb could be blocked by terrorists, extremist militants, pirates by sinking inbound or outbound shipping traffic via simply sinking 1-2 supertankers or VLCC (very large crude carriers). Hence why the Straits of Hormuz, as with Bab-el-Mandeb, are listed or known as ‘chokepoints’.
Hang the traitors who put that report out.
I’m presuming you’re referring to the report the American Intelligence report from 2007 and not the IAEA report that just came out.
Tick tick tick tick tick
Takes more than “data” to make a nuke bomb.
When gasoline prices reached in excess of $4.50 a gallon, did you notice how folks began screaming for an increase in domestic drilling.
Then....poof. Magically the price of oil fell like a rock thrown off a cliff.
There has been huge oil and natural gas discoveries in the last year or two.
22 trillion cubic ft off the coast of La., oil off the coast of Houston in deep waters, Baken region up near the U.S./Canadian border.
Fuel prices may spike, but only in the short term.
The American people will revolt over cap and trade / refusal by the liberals to tap domestic reserves when fuel and home heating prices reach levels unsustainable by the average Joe.
Extremely difficult! You need at least a 56K modem for internet access:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_weapon_design
Then you need to be able to type words into a "search engine" and then do some reading. Tough stuff!
This, of course, calls for more “talks”.
You are spot on with your conclusion that Russia WANTS an unstable Meddle East, one that would seriously impact the transport of oil from that region, as that would leave Russia, a large oil producer and exporter itself, with a windfall as the market would look to Russia to cover the deficit. Russia would make out like a bandit.
Who is Pakistan and Saudi Arabia's biggest victims of the world wide jihad? Nuclear powers Russia and India and both Russia and India would not mind a nuclear powered Shia Iran being a problem for the Saudis and the Pakis.
I think it always bothered him that he couldn't produce for the mullahs the same deal kim jong il got.
“Report says Iran will have A-bomb sometime after next Tuesday.”
“Report says Iran has data to make cupcakes and brownies.”
Enough already. If anyone was serious about stopping Iran we’d have seen an air campaign by now.
I think that the plutonium bomb is the easy one.
Well, thank you. Knowing that the Iranians will never be able to engineer a bomb has helped me to stop worrying.
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