Why Iranians Want Nukes: Analysis

Foreign Policy:

In their talks today, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S. President Barack Obama will no doubt have discussed the uncomfortable subject of Iran.

Read the whole story: Foreign Policy

Comments

[aaronr2000]

If Iran signed the non-proliferation treaty, part of which allows for the peaceful production of nuclear energy, why are we making a big deal out of Iran's nuclear program? Is it only because Israel doesn't trust them not to take the exit ramp from the road to nuclear energy to nuclear weaponry?

[arvay]

A major flaw in this article: skipping over Israel's nuclear arsenal and its ability to use it. No rational and responsible leader can ignore such an existential threat, and Iran's motivation to acquire a deterrent should be obvious to anyone.

Once Iran has a few deliverable nukes, Israel can't growl so effectively any more with its hand on its nuclear holster. That's its real purpose in trying to get the world to squelch Iran's program -- omnipotence is habit-forming. The old excuses don't wash. Israel's nukes are useless against the real threats it faces -- close in insurgencies in Gaza, South Lebanon and maybe eventually in the West Bank.

The Israelis know that Iran would not invite nuclear vaporization by attacking, any more than Europe is really afraid that Tehran will nuke its best business partners, even if it had the missiles to do so.
One good sign: an administration official said, for the first time, that Israel should sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. This was a lower-level official but could be repeated at high levels if necessary.

[Macready]

thank you arvay . . . israel has to be made to sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty . . Iran is already a member . . .

Iran would not attack but israel . . I bet they are just itching for another iraq . . . the only way to stop israel is for the US to cut its financial and military support and UN sanctions . . . . it has to be done or the zionists will create WWIII -- and why . . .for what . . . so they can expand their empire????

[arvay]

Israel has long ceased to be a rational state -- it's growing ever more extreme and hysterical as it sees its once-grand "Greater Israel" designs crumble and those "primitive" Arabs defeat its designs again and again.

[Nyland8]

"What matters is not whether these Iranian perceptions are justified"

ROTFLMAO

It doesn't matter if their perceptions are justified?? !! We overthrew the duly elected Mossadegh government - inserted the Shah into power - then after signing a non-interference treaty in '81, we backed Saddam Hussein in an eight year war against them that killed a million people. Now the country whose most recent president called them part of an "axis of evil" and declared a crusade against Islam has amassed armies on their Western border, their Eastern border and his Navy occupies their gulf. Is there ANY perception the Iranians can have of us that ISN'T justified? If I were Iran, I'd be racing to produce nukes. If they're really not, and that's what they claim, then they're crazy. And that's probably exactly the view of our own State Department. Even if they had zero intelligence revealing a nuclear energy program, they'd have to think Iran was insane to not be trying to produce weapons.

We live in Bizzarro world. It's just like Bill Hicks said. The United States is the gunslinger character Jack Wilson in "Shane" demanding the unarmed sheep herder pick up the gun.

Should anybody be surprised if they opted to reach for it?

8~o

[Macready]

you are so right Nyland8 . . . if I were Iran . . I would be building nukes . . . as a nuclear deterrant . . . Western hypocrisy is a vast ocean of arrogance . . .

[Khirad]

I'll admit I skimmed the article. It wasn't telling me much I didn't already know. I was like, duh. If only more people could place themselves in another person's shoes. You don't have to come away agreeing with it, but it will give you much better perspective with which to argue the issue. If I'd had my country meddled with like Iran has, Israeli nukes targeting my cities, and been called a member of the Axis of Evil, I'd want nuclear weapons as well.

[skialethia]

How often to we get an unbiased analysis like this one, that shuts out the hyperbole and hysteria and focuses on what's real?

[Khirad]

Not in the US media. British, European and Persian media in the diaspora is a lot better with the nuances.

[zaz33]

Pretty benign piece considering the title, but a little bit of history which we don't get very often. (except from some comments)

As I understand it Iran had contracts with both England and the US for enriched uranium which were not honored and is the primary reason that Iran is doing it themselves. It doesn't make much sense to have a nuclear power plant if you don't have fuel. I guess you could call this a missed opportunity for the US and Europe.

Also - hardly mentiond is that Iran has offered to turn their enrichment operations into a consortium. This means Western corporations like General Electric could be hands on partners in the nuclear operations. Apparently we've turned down this "problem solved" offer.

Also not mentioned is Russia's concerns that the objective for the west is to move them out and have Western companies reap the profits. There is no doubt that our corporations want to do busines with Iran. We're getting our clock cleaned by Europe, Russia, and China right now.

More opportunties missed with a country we have more in common with than most American realize.

An attack by Israel or the US would certainly change that.

[piul05]

They also had contracts for with Western countries for the supply of refining technology, as their oil is very heavy. The result? The carpet was pulled from under their feet and they never had access to it. So now, not only can't they meet their domestic demand on oil-based products using the old technology , but also they have to buy petrol (the added-on value product from the commodity they export) from abroad.

This is obviously a dream for the big corporations; string them along, preventing them from developing the technology that would really allow them to make the most of their oil, and sell it final product back to them at silly prices, wiping off the profit from selling the raw commodity.

So, it's no wonder that they want nuclear power; they can simply export the oil and skip the whole refining and importing business, as they would be meeting their domestic needs with nuclear energy.

As a bonus, they level the playing field with Israel.

[Manchurian]

Insightful, common-sense analysis. From his comments on the issue, I'm guessing this is President Obama's understanding of the situation as well.

[finishcurve]

The "Limbaugh" style of foreign policy that Israel likes, isn't ever going to yield positive results.

As long as we pay Israel to be the bully in the neighborhood, we have to expect a counter force.

[yappnmutt]

and their you have it. the iranian position is not as extreme as some people would like the world to believe. on the other hand there is no doubt the other side, including the usa, up until now, has been less then sane. hopefully obama has the political fortitude to bring sanity back to the table.

[Wozzeck]

US corporations urged the Shah of Iran to develop nuclear power. The book "The Israeli Connection' documents that Israel offered to help pre-revolution Iran construct missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads. Israel also trained the Shah's secret police.

[wadenelson1]

There are NO countries other than Japan that have developed nuclear technology that haven't continued on to create nuclear weapons.

Imagine how much safer we would be TODAY if Pakistan and India had not been given access to Pandora's box.

That having said, I see no justification for Israel to be the only country in the Middle East "allowed" to posess nukes.

I frankly think MAD will work as well there as it did between the USSR and USA.

[Mogamboguru]

To quote you: "There are NO countries other than Japan that have developed nuclear technology that haven't continued on to create nuclear weapons."

Flat-out WRONG. Germany has mastered the full reprocessing and enrichment-cycle, but has NEVER applied to use the enriched Uranium and Plutonium for warheads.

Try again.

[lightningbolt]

The only reason Japan and Germany have not actually developed weapons is because they are forbidden from doing so because of their actions in WW2.

[Sentientbeing09]

There are more nuclear reactors and developed nuclear industries in the world than you think:

http://www.eia.doe.gov/cneaf/nuclear/page/nuc_generation/gensum2.html,