I’ve put my first post up in the TPM Cafe, asking whether US & EU diplomacy might usefully exploit divisions within Iranian politics to slow Iran’s nuclear programs.
(Update: I’ve added a second post asking what happens if Iran “gets” the bomb.)
Here are links to my three part series on the “big questions” about Iran’s nuclear program, cross posted at Wampum:
Iran & the Bomb 1: How Close Is Iran?
Iran & the Bomb 2: Iran’s Missiles
Iran & The Bomb 3: Strike Options
Robert McDougall | January 23, 2006
This(1) case for invading Iran has been getting some play around the warblogosphere, based on the author’s intuition that “Iran has dramatically shortened the time required to acquire the necessary weapons-grade fissionable materials by purchase abroad of pre-enriched, but not yet weapons-grade, fissionable materials (not just from North Korea)”.
Another notion:(2) that Iran will paralyze the United States with an electromagnetic pulse warheads, launched from freighters lying off the coast.
I don’t know if you’ve any time to spend on this time of stuff, but if someone with a clue did address it, he might be doing a public service.
(1) http://www.windsofchange.net/archives/007981.php
(2) http://www.windsofchange.net/archives/007988.php#c34
Cheryl Rofer | January 25, 2006
Jeffrey has already addressed (1), last week. For an overview of these issues and others, check out http://whirledview.typepad.com/whirledview/2006/01/the_rightwing_n.html
Robert McDougall | January 27, 2006
Cheryl:
Well, no, I don’t think he has addressed (1). He did discuss the nuclear weapons timeline under the usual assumption that Iran will produce its own fissile material, but not the proposition that Iran could short-circuit the process by importing material.
I doubt this is a realistic scenario, but, as a layman, I can’t of my own knowledge entirely rule it out.
But since this is “a blog for wonks” (Lewis, comment 2 to next article), I guess the question’s out of order anyway.
JS Narins | January 30, 2006
Thanks for the three parter.
Is there anyone you can work with to make it a bit more popular? For example, the equation doesn’t (I’d argue) really help the flow of the article, but it might work as a little javascript popup window (you have some computer help already, I’d help them out if they have any questions).
The simple fact is that even though the Krauthammer has no clue what he is talking about, I don’t know any way to educate him, and he gets, through his columns, to diseducate millions.