Recently, Bush and Cheney have been trying to ratchet up the rhetoric against Iran in much the same way they did against Iraq before they invaded. It seems like they are trying to drum up support for an attack on Iran, even though the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are not going well.
A few days ago, Bush said, "I've told people that if you're interested in avoiding World War III, it seems like you ought to be interested in preventing them (Iran) from having the knowledge neccessary to make a nuclear weapon."
Cheney continued the argument by saying, "Our country, and the entire international community, cannot stand by as a terror-supporting state fulfills its grandest ambitions. We will not allow Iran to have a nuclear weapon."
The way these two men carry on, you'd think they had irrefutable proof that Iran has a nuclear weapons plan. The truth is that there is absolutely no proof of any kind that Iran has such a program, or even has plans to develop such a program.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has been making inspections for the last four years, and have turned up no proof of any kind of nuclear weapons program. The Director General of the IAEA says, "I have not received any information that there is a concrete active nuclear-weapons program going on right now."
As much as their rhetoric would make it seem otherwise, the Bush administration has yet to provide even one iota of proof for their claims.In fact, there are those within the Bush administration that don't agree that such a program exists.
One administration official (who requested anonymity) said, "I don't think that anyone right today thinks they're working on a bomb." Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns puts it this way, "Iran is seeking a nuclear capability...that some people fear might lead to a nuclear-weapons capability."
The Bush administration was allowed to build the case for war with Iraq on nothing but rhetoric and lies. We must not allow them to do the same with Iran.
Bush is an evil and war monger.
ReplyDeleteWe are too tired of the wars.
Bush and Cheney, the axes of evil, may be talking to God again. They are certainly not listening.
ReplyDeleteJohn in Ruswarp
Where the Iranians are right now, the development of a Civilian Nuclear Program and a Weapons Program are identical. Both require the mastering the Fuel Cycle and enriching Uranium. The difference is the level to which you enrich the uranium.
ReplyDeleteAdditionally, if Iran were build civilian reactors, it could easily extract Plutonium from the spent fuel. This extraction process is relatively simple and requires very limited facilities (as opposed to Uranium enrichment which requires a large amount of energy and infastructure).
Additionally, Iran is a signatory state of the Non-Proliferation Treaty. By pursuing a nuclear program in secret, it has violated the terms of this treaty.
What do these facts add up to? Iran is up to no good. The measures we have taken so far are perfectly reasonable given that Iran has broken its treaty obligations.
Nuclear Schmuclear; if we would stop dangling our privates in their region, Israel would have no problem defending itself, preventing proliferation, etc.
ReplyDeleteMan, this stuff puts me in a foul mood.