An Arms Race We’re Sure to Lose -- New York Times
THE coverage of the latest bombastic tour of Manhattan by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran may have obscured the fact that the International Atomic Energy Agency has released its latest report on Tehran’s nuclear program, and it contains some unpleasant news: By the time we inaugurate our next president, Iran is likely to achieve “virtual” nuclear weapon status. This means that it will be able to produce, within a few months of deciding to do so, enough weapon-grade uranium to fuel a bomb.
But how is that possible? After all, about the only thing the Bush administration and our European allies seem to agree on regarding Iran is that there is a lot more time for diplomacy and sanctions to work before the ayatollahs can cross the nuclear line. Unfortunately, that’s no longer the situation.
Since last December, Iran has been feeding uranium into its bank of rapidly spinning centrifuges at an increasing clip. Out has come a growing stockpile of what scientists call “low enriched” uranium, which is ideal for fueling a reactor. However, if you re-circulate this material through the centrifuges, it becomes highly enriched bomb fuel. By Aug. 30, according to the atomic agency’s Sept. 15 report, Iran’s stockpile had reached 1,060 pounds of low-enriched uranium hexafluoride, and it was producing a little more than 100 pounds a month.
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My Comment: My memories are a bit different than what the New York Times is reporting. Repeated efforts by Europe to negotiate an agreement produced nothing .... reason .... the Iranians essentially told them that as an independent state they are not beholden to anyone telling them what to do.
I have been writing for a very long time that Iran's intentions have been blunt and very clear to anyone who pays any attention .... Iran perceives its nuclear program as essential to their strategic and security concerns. Nothing is going to change their perceptions of this.
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