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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| State Department sez Iran becoming very aggressive |
| 2005-12-10 |
| Iran is closing in on production of nuclear weapons and even U.N. sanctions may not deter the aggressive government in Tehran, a top State Department official said Friday. Describing the Iranian government as "very aggressive, very determined to develop nuclear weapons," Robert Joseph, undersecretary for arms control and international security, dismissed Iran's contention that it seeks only civilian nuclear power. "We know this is not the case," Joseph said at the University of Virginia's Miller Center in Charlottesville. Iran has methodically taken all but one last step to turn out nuclear weapons, he said. "Once they begin to enrich, that is the point of no return." Negotiations between the European Union and Iran to stop Iran with offers of economic incentives have foundered. Still, Joseph said the United States was relying on diplomacy to try to deter Iran. In the meantime, he said, the Bush administration has held off seeking economic sanctions against Iran in the U.N. Security Council in order to solicit the support of Russia and China. However, Iran is so determined to produce nuclear weapons that sanctions might not stop the accelerating drive, he said. Negotiation to halt North Korea's nuclear weapons program is "easy compared to Iran," Joseph said. Unlike North Korea, Iran has huge resources and "is not motivated by a desire to stay isolated. Iran has a very aggressive agenda," Joseph said. He cited, as an example, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's statement that Israel should be "wiped off the map." Speaking Friday in Oslo, Norway, Nobel Peace Prize laureate Mohamed ElBaradei said the international community was losing patience with Iran over its nuclear program. ElBaradei, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said he hopes the outstanding nuclear issues with Iran will be clarified next year. "They are inching forward and I'm asking them to leap forward," said ElBaradei, who shares the award with the IAEA. He said he hopes outstanding nuclear issues with Tehran will be clarified by the time he presents his next report on Iran in March, because "the international community is losing patience with the nature of that program." "The ball is in Iran's court. It is up to Iran to show the kind of transparency they need to show," ElBaradei told reporters. He encouraged European negotiators to continue talks with Iran. |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |
| #14 Stupidity has never been a barrier to action for the left. |
| Posted by: AzCat 2005-12-10 23:41 |
| #13 Oil prices would skyrocket and left would crush Bush with another year of "War for Oil!" chanting. Regaling the country with more "No War for Oil" protests would be an exercise in stupidity. The idea of a war for oil is to make it cheap, not expensive. |
| Posted by: Bomb-a-rama 2005-12-10 23:10 |
| #12 How about some creative entropy here and there ath critical nodes, like oil pumping stations, terminals, large transformers, etc. to halt the flow of oil and put a dent in the cash flow? Political impossibility for the US. Oil prices would skyrocket and left would crush Bush with another year of "War for Oil!" chanting. |
| Posted by: AzCat 2005-12-10 21:49 |
| #11 State says... LOL, What a bunch of cretins. Never mind Lyot, what color is the sun on State's planet? |
| Posted by: SR-71 2005-12-10 20:16 |
| #10 With the US presidency showing a total lack of strength, the Iranians are pushing to see how for they can get and trying to maximize their gains If the Iranians are pushing because the US Presidency is weak, that tells you how useful and effective Europe has been in all this. |
| Posted by: Pappy 2005-12-10 19:20 |
| #9 I'm curious Lyot...what color is the sun on your planet? |
| Posted by: Frank G 2005-12-10 19:20 |
| #8 lyot, either this problem gets solved or the Europeans have painted themselves into a corner. and all W had to do was act multilateral. He hasn't had to do a thing and he's got all his enemies where he wants them. That sounds like real smartswithout having to use any strength. |
| Posted by: Elminens Ebboluper9299 2005-12-10 17:32 |
| #7 With the US presidency showing a total lack of strength, the Iranians are pushing to see how for they can get and trying to maximize their gains..It's interesting to see how Israel will react. |
| Posted by: lyot 2005-12-10 17:02 |
| #6 "Creative entropy"? Izzat like - rapid releases of energy which also happen to randomize formerly stationary parts? Like, mebbe - explosions? |
| Posted by: Bobby 2005-12-10 12:47 |
| #5 How about some creative entropy here and there ath critical nodes, like oil pumping stations, terminals, large transformers, etc. to halt the flow of oil and put a dent in the cash flow? |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul 2005-12-10 11:58 |
| #4 What needs to happen is for somebody to 'mix up' the path through the enrichment cascade such that it gets 'over-enriched' and reaches critical density (mass) in the system. Oops. Or some other creative accident. |
| Posted by: Glenmore 2005-12-10 10:15 |
| #3 Credible threat?? The only credible threat they understand is when they hear Bomb-a-rama's namesake flying overhead! Time to dust off the B52's and make a few low passes over that country. |
| Posted by: 49 pan 2005-12-10 09:46 |
| #2 A credible threat would not deter the Iranians. Making one would only telegraph the punch. there's no reason for Israel to do anymore than they've already done. |
| Posted by: Hupenter Whush3278 2005-12-10 08:52 |
| #1 Still, Joseph said the United States was relying on diplomacy to try to deter Iran. The only thing that might deter Iran is a credible threat. If anyone in Washington has one, now would be a good time to dust it off. |
| Posted by: Bomb-a-rama 2005-12-10 02:04 |