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| Iran |
| US has new proof of Iranian nuke project |
| 2004-02-07 |
| America has convincing new evidence that iran is hiding an atomic bomb project despite Tehran’s promise to open up all of its nuclear facilities to international inspectors, a senior US official has told The Daily Telegraph. He said the Tehran regime was secretly trying to build a second and more advanced uranium enrichment plant in parallel to the large facilities in the town of Natanz revealed to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) last year. "There is no doubt in our mind that the Iranians have a lot that the IAEA does not know about," said the official. "The Iranians have a military programme that the IAEA has never set eyes on." Another western source confirmed that the nuclear technology smuggling network headed by Abdul Qadeer Khan, Pakistan’s top Clear-cut proof of a secret nuclear weapons programme in Iran would be an acute embarrassment for Jack Straw, the foreign secretary, who has invested heavily in "engagement" with the clerical regime. Senior diplomats from the big three European countries this week met Iranian officials in Vienna to demand that Tehran halt these subsidiary enrichment-related activities, but reached no agreement. It was not clear whether they discussed US suspicions that Tehran had a second secret enrichment plant. Iran claims it has only sought to make low-enriched uranium as fuel for a planned civil nuclear reactor to generate electricity. According to US and western sources, it is now clear that Iran has been hiding much more. In particular, they believe Tehran has been trying to build a G2 centrifuge with high-speed rotors made of maraging steel, a light but high-strength form of the metal. This is a more efficient model than the aluminium-based G1 design that is under IAEA inspection in Natanz. Both versions are based on Dutch designs stolen in the 1970s by Khan when he was working as a metallurgist in the Netherlands for Urenco, the British-German-Dutch nuclear fuel consortium. Libya bought both the G1 aluminium and G2 maraging steel versions from Khan’s network. Officials will not say precisely how they have established that Iran is still working on an atomic bomb. But a wealth of information is emerging from the unravelling of the "nuclear supermarket" supplied by Khan. |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |
| #12 Bravo Shipman, Bravo! |
| Posted by: Lucky 2004-2-8 12:07:31 AM |
| #11 Yep... the rest of the worlds playing chess and the United States is playing poker.... I got 3 dollars sez your rooks can't move. |
| Posted by: Shipman 2004-2-7 1:41:10 PM |
| #10 It's unlikely that Bush would purposely delay the timing of any WMD find for political benefit. He's paying way too high a price politically and diplomatically. If we had these cards, Bush would play them now. Instead, he's in damage control mode. Defining the role of the intelligence commission broadly to include intelligence underestimates as well as over estimates and including McCain and others shows that he's making the best of a bad hand. That said, this article might explain why Tenet still has a job. Unraveling the NK/Libya/Pak/Iran joint proliferation program is a plus. It also explains the strategic rationale for going to war in Iraq: "the presence of US troops either side of Iran - in Iraq and Afghanistan - is a reminder to the regime that Washington retains the declared option of 'pre-emptive' military action." We now have a much stronger hand vs. Iran and a better intelligence to guide how we play it. Unfortunately, Pres. Kerry might be the beneficiary of this accomplishment because there is only so much Bush can do to explain the benefits of his policies without diminishing their effectiveness. |
| Posted by: JAB 2004-2-7 1:37:20 PM |
| #9 "The Iranians have a military programme that the IAEA has never set eyes on." My nomination for the 2004 "Most Obvious News Item" award. |
| Posted by: Steve White 2004-2-7 1:27:42 PM |
| #8 Thanks for the "MBA" link, John. I'm saving it. |
| Posted by: GK 2004-2-7 12:47:30 PM |
| #7 If that's what's going on, I'm sure the left will go berserk over the "politicization" of the information. But since they started down that road, I think they'll deserve it. |
| Posted by: Robert Crawford 2004-2-7 12:17:07 PM |
| #6 Hmm... or else he is keeping his cards close to his chest and will reveal them during the election 'call'. "Ok look...here's a bioweapon lab... and here is a nuke lab... I guess they had WMD after all..." |
| Posted by: CrazyFool 2004-2-7 9:14:19 AM |
| #5 B, you may be right. By reputation, the President was a very avid and skillful poker player when he was an MBA student. GWB, Harvard MBA Interesting analysis (HT Instaman) |
| Posted by: john 2004-2-7 8:44:19 AM |
| #4 B.. That would be a wonderful scenario but I'm afraid it's probably wishful thinking. |
| Posted by: JimH 2004-2-7 8:38:14 AM |
| #3 This article makes me stand by my belief that, despite all the hype, we have found plenty of evidence of wmd's in Iraq. I think that they have been classified so that they can pursue the global proliferation rather than just what was in Iraq. I wonder if the Bush administration has been willing to take the political heat in order not to interfere with investigators, who can do so much more when the press isn't blabbing every little detail and source. |
| Posted by: B 2004-2-7 5:58:30 AM |
| #2 Here's a political cartoon from Cox and Forkum that is appropos to this story. |
| Posted by: GK 2004-2-7 5:20:34 AM |
| #1 Senior diplomats from the big three European countries this week met Iranian officials in Vienna to demand that Tehran halt these subsidiary enrichment-related activities, but reached no agreement I'd snicker - but it's just not that funny. |
| Posted by: B 2004-2-7 5:04:04 AM |