Iran Nuclear Warheads: Are They Being Designed?

nytimes.com:

WASHINGTON When President Obama stood last week with the leaders of Britain and France to denounce Iran's construction of a secret nuclear plant, the Western powers all appeared to be on the same page.

Read the whole story: nytimes.com

Comments

[egaeus]

02:28 PM on 09/29/2009

An interesting point that Scott Ritter ( former UN weapons inspector who was dead on in his estimation about Iraq's WMD's) made is that Israel, which is not a signatory of the Nuclear Proliferation Treaty and has not intention of becoming one AND has a large stockpile of nukes, is helping to manufacture a crisis over Iran, which IS a signatory and has no nukes. Iran is abiding by its legal obligations and has been doing so. If there is a treaty on the nuclear issue, it must be applicable to ALL parties, not simply those that we and are allies deem are unpopular.

[motoGpifupleez]

02:38 PM on 09/29/2009

Remember what the Cheney/W regime did to him when he called out their lie about Iraq WMD?
False accusations of childpornography.
I'll take Mr. Ritter's assessment over any one else's.

[mazzetta]

04:38 PM on 09/29/2009

and don't forget that Saudi Arabia, signing the Small Quantities Protocol" is excluded from inspective activities. Saudi Arabia signed the SQP in 2005 while many experts were raising doubts and Saudi Arabia was being investigated as possible customers of a clandestine nuclear procurement network run by former Pakistani nuclear official Abdul Qadeer Khan.

the question nobody answers is why Saudi Arabia is the main sponsor of Pakistan's nuclear program since years. A Sauid prince sits in the Pakistani nuclear board, but what do Saudi Arabia gains from this enormous flow of money?

more

why do Saudi Arabia has bought, and is trying to renew, some dozens of long range missiles, who can carry nuclear warhead, if loading them with conventional explosive is a plain nonsense given their smll number and accuracy?

and why nobody in the world seems willing to further investigate Saudi Arabia, even if Mossand has tracked Pakistani nuclear scientists and technician "disappearing" during long pilgrimages to Saudi Arabia?

double standards again and again?

[mazzetta]

01:44 PM on 09/29/2009

Iran doesn't need it, being associate with Pakistan's nuclear program since ages, they just have to ask for, if they already have not the warheads blueprints or some warheads too

In Pakistan gave centrifugees to Iran, If Pakistan give them missilises design (Pakistan's and Iran's missiles ere twins) is not difficult to imagine the Iranian could have get some more sensible stuff

Imho all this shouting to "evil" Iran is just an attempot to deflect criticism for the illegal distruction of Iraq, and Id' say also that Ahmadinejad is gaining a lot from this staged quarrels

don't forget that Iran has helped US both with Iraq and Afghanistan's invasions and that has hunted down and hanged many al Qaedans

[Khirad]

11:18 PM on 09/29/2009

Nailed it with "staged quarrel."

[barksalot]

01:43 PM on 09/29/2009

It only takes a threat of use to disrupt the world. Iran has huge deposits of oil and natural gas so obviously nuclear power is not their goal. If we give in to Iran then your thinking should be to give nukes to all countries in the region and for that matter to the world. A big game of chicken.

[egaeus]

02:19 PM on 09/29/2009

You are wrong. Actually, nuclear power is their goal. I recommend listening to this interview with Scott Ritter on Democracy Now! in which he explains exactly what the facility is for:

http://www.democracynow.org/2009/9/29/fmr_un_weapons_inspector_scott_ritter

[OxamsRazor]

02:27 PM on 09/29/2009

Scott Ritter is an American Hero. He was telling EVERYONE that Iraq had no WMDs and he was called a traitor as a result.

[HekmabaJuzimax]

02:24 PM on 09/29/2009

Well, with the world oil supply dwindling, countries all over the world are taking another look at nuclear power. Plus it doesn't hurt to have a few bombsready to hurl atIsrael.

[ltyr2002]

01:33 PM on 09/29/2009

This is not just about Israel or the Western powers. I think a huge issue here is the Shia/Sunni conflict throughout the whole region. What will the Saudis, the Egyptians, the Syrians do when Shiite Iran gets a nuke?

These folks have no problem killing each other over that scism (think Iraq!) in their faith-much like the old Protestant vs. Catholic fights.

I worry about the Muslim arms race that will follow this episode.

[OneTop]

03:06 PM on 09/29/2009

You should re-read what you posted.

If you don't know why, think of the words myopia, ignorance and stereotype

[Ozarks]

04:09 PM on 09/29/2009

The day Iran launches an offensive nuke at anybody will be the day Iran will cease to exit. They know it, we know it and everything else is just a political dog and pony show much like our soap opera' s .

[ftc]

01:15 PM on 09/29/2009

All this dooms day talk is nonsense. Do you think a country with nukes will launch a nuclear strike against another with more nuclear capabilities! The rulers of Iran are not that crazy, but power hungry. Trust me they want commit suicide. They want to remain in control and get richer.

[hardrain77]

01:21 PM on 09/29/2009

One only needs to look at a map and realize any nuke attack by Iran would be counterproductive. The fallout alone would block the sun out of Persia as well.

Objectivity is not something to be promoted if you live on lies and disinfo.

[hardrain77]

01:12 PM on 09/29/2009

Nice to see the New York Times letting Judith Miller write again.

[WmC]

01:07 PM on 09/29/2009

Let's send Dick Cheney to Iran to assess the situation. And tell them if they want to try him as a war criminal, they're welcome to him.

[ChangeurMind]

01:03 PM on 09/29/2009

I am more afraid of Israel. Such a small country and population, yet has the US by the strings.

[ChangeurMind]

12:57 PM on 09/29/2009

the US creates the threat. perhaps if the US did not invade two countries who had nothing to do with 9-11 then maybe Iran would not need the weapon.

[Deparis]

12:38 PM on 09/29/2009

They would be fools if they were still just designing it and did not already have it in the work.

[MosheDayanHero]

12:47 PM on 09/29/2009

Fine. And the wolrd community is ready, willing and able to devaste Iranian economy and marginalize Iranian rulers
Enjoy.

[Deparis]

01:17 PM on 09/29/2009

I guess the same way "the world community is ready, willing and able to devaste (?)" Israel, America, Britain, France, Pakistan, India, China, Russia... "economy and marginalize [their] rulers" (emphasis omitted/added).

[CigarGod]

09:57 AM on 09/30/2009

Sophomoric response that assumes Iran is an island.

[ChangeurMind]

12:35 PM on 09/29/2009

How is Iran the threat when the US has already invaded to sovereign nations in the region? Israel invades Lebanon and Palestinian Territories-settlements when ever it loses a hair on its head

[AnotherMcIntosh]

04:22 PM on 09/29/2009

"How is Iran the threat ...?"

Well, to paraphrase Dick Cheney, they're sitting on "our" oil.

[AirForce Vet]

12:34 PM on 09/29/2009

Oh me, oh my, are they designing a warhead. I’m shaking in my boots not because of Iran. I agree that they shouldn’t be doing this if they are, but there is another lingering question that we fail to ask. What are we, the French, the British, the German, the Pakistani, the Indian, the Israeli, or any other government designing or making? From my life experience, if you focus the spotlight on one devil’s actions it makes allowances for the other devils to operate in the shadows.

This whole matter is like living through the remake of the Iraq debacle. It has a few new actors, different location, different scenery, updated scripts, and the same old plot with possibly a worse ending than the original.

[beebletree]

12:24 PM on 09/29/2009

So what if they are building one.. they have a right to.

[SeenItBefore]

12:23 PM on 09/29/2009

Take a page from "Dr. Stangelove".

Develop a Doomsday Machine, prove it works and give every nation a choice between total disarmament or everybody's got to have at least one.

Take note of who gives them up and who takes one. Eliminate the takers and enjoy, for once, peace on earth.

[OneTop]

12:18 PM on 09/29/2009

Shouldn't the NYT just move to Tel Aviv and get it over with.

[MosheDayanHero]

12:33 PM on 09/29/2009

" Obama's new approach worries the Arab states, particularly the small Arab Gulf states who think that a potential U.S. deal with Iran over its nuclear program might come at their expense.
http://www.alarabiya.net/views/2009/03/03/67617.html

Should Al Arabiya also move to Tel Aviv?
R..O..F..L..

[Deparis]

01:19 PM on 09/29/2009

I guess yes!

[Deparis]

12:33 PM on 09/29/2009

The most intelligible post i have read here so far this morning. Your next beer is on me fella, i just chuckled upon reading your post.