Is Iran a major threat?

[Wonder]

I take the risk that this might already be old news. It was released 14 hours ago. If old news and already posted, as 14 hours IS a long time in LBN... Please go ahead and lock the thread... but if you will put a link to the original post of this article. Thanks! In the meantime here is some snips.

snip
Many people in the Middle East wonder about the fuss over Iran's nuclear programme, which is for peaceful purposes, when it is known Israel is a major nuclear power. As party to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, NPT, Iran signed in 1968 when the NPT came into existence, Iran has repeatedly stated said it is compelled to develop a nuclear programme for peaceful purposes only.

It is Israel that introduced nuclear weapons into the Middle East. As early as 1948, it began scientific research with the help of France to acquire a nuclear capability. With a suggested capability of between 200 and 400 thermonuclear and nuclear weapons, Israel today stands as one of the leading nuclear powers in terms of an offensive military arsenal.

Israel has always been highly secretive about its nuclear weapons. In fact, the first to blow the whistle on Israel's nuclear industry was Mordechi Vannu who was subsequently abducted from Rome by Mossad agents, illegally brought back to Israel and jailed in 1987 for 17 years for revealing pictures of the Dimona reactor in Israel, and remains there today.

However, Israel's nuclear weapons have always been an open secret. This ambiguity stands as the essence of Israel's nuclear policy. Israeli officials are bound not to reveal or acknowledge anything about its nuclear activity, even if they and the world know otherwise.

read on...

http://www.gulf-news.com/Articles/Opinion.asp?ArticleID=93711

[Randi_Listener]

1. Iran = 9/11

Bring 'Em On!

sincerely,
Pretzel Puss

[Wonder]

5. Look at the slinky reptile!

!!

[Vitruvius]

14. And look at the Max Factor pancake tan over the "gin bloom"

on Pretzelboy's face. Can't quite hide the broken blood vessels in the nose -- still red -- redder than Rudolph the Reindeer's nose.

[Caution]

2. The answer to this question is the same as the answer to another question:

Do they have oil?

[Wonder]

6. AND the answer to that question is easy!

Yes they do. And an untapped well was just discovered!

[davidinalameda]

3. they are a threat only if the hardliners take complete control

over the government

as long as the moderates/liberal forces still control part of the government, they aren't a threat

and we should stop trying to destablize the government--that's going to give the hardliners a reason to try and oust the president and his supporters

[damnraddem]

10. But neither should the U.S. endorse the reformist government --

that would destabilize it and allow the hardliners to take over. The U.S. should keep its nose out.

And by the way, with the latest student protest against the reform government: 1. no student lives were lost (a first in Iran), and 2. the demand of the students was met (the government dropped the initiative to privatize public universities).

[davidinalameda]

4. they are a threat only if the hardliners take complete control

over the government

as long as the moderates/liberal forces still control part of the government, they aren't a threat

and we should stop trying to destablize the government--that's going to give the hardliners a reason to try and oust the president and his supporters

[durutti]

13. Agreed

And if you read any interviews with the reformists, you realize that they really would resent U.S. involvement.

[Trajan]

7. This misses the point .....

Though I agree generally with your post .......

ALL weapons are a 'threat' .....

From Sticks and Stones to ICBMs and MIRVs : ... ALL represent a THREAT of harm to human beings .....

Iran, as a great nation who wishes to bring wealth and comfort to its OWN citizens, should have as much right as any other nation to exploit nuclear energy an a legitimate source of power for its society ....

The same applies to ANY nation .......

Yet: ..... animosities EXIST between nations which 'might' lead one nation to attack another nation ..... after which the attacked nation will respond in counter attack .....

No matter WHAT nation .....

No matter WHAT cause .....

War WILL happen .......

NO nation should have Nuclear, Biological, or Chemical weapons, for this reason ....... because HUMANITY cannot tolerate such war, due to the extreme dislocation and widespread suffering caused by WMDs ...... it will be horrifying for the world .......

Unfortunately: ..... the WMD genie cannot be placed back into the bottle, and frankly I have no hope that mankind will restrain his hand and NOT use WMD's in the near future: ....

Either Pakistan or India will fire one up, leading to a 'limited exchange' ..... or perhaps Pakistan or North Kopea will sell a device to a political group, who will use it to blackmail a nation or the world in gemeral .....

Either way: .. once one is lit up: ... the sky is the limit as to how other nuclear nations will react in their fear ......

Iran, North Korea, and EVERY other nation SHOULD BE AIDED in their development of SAFER Nuclear energy sources: such as the development of light reactors, to preclude their development of weapons capable reactors ... The so called Sunshine policy was a SUCCESS: ..... even though the NK was apparently stretching their devlopment past the established norms, they COULD have been brought back into line using pressure from the International community .....

ALL should be done to RATCHET DOWN the rhetoric between 'enemies' so peaceful negotiations can be used to bring peace in the world .....

Peace ..... remember when we preached peace ? ....

Damn ........ Its been so long now .......

The PNAC/AEI worldview is ALL about FEAR, HATRED and ABSOLUTE POWER ... there is nothing in their philosophy that seeks consensus between nations, ONLY to FORCE other nations to comply with the wishes of a few, at the threat of annihilation if they dont comply .....

YEs: ..... Iran WITH nuclear weapons is a horrible thought rife with dark possibility ......

But Iran: ..... a peaceful Iran, who engaged in peaceful negotiations that brought mutual benefits to itself and its neighbors, including Israel, ... could and should be able to use nuclear power to energize its society WITHOUT having to create a nuclear weapons program ......

The PROBLEM isnt necessarily the WEAPONS, but the RHETORIC ....

Without the rhetoric of hatred: WMDs arent needed to ward off the fear .....

[Wonder]

11. and then again there is that NPT

which the US and Israel refuse to sign... who is a threat to whom...

It is all a threat, however without the proper accountability, there will be no moral, logical, sane or even a productive conclusion to this. The way we are handling this is antagonistic. Itt will not foster understanding or friendly collaboration between all parties, but instead serves to create even greater tensions and greater distance.

"The Arabs" have always been considered lesser pawns in a the western game, whether collaborating with puppet Arab autocacies, dictatorships, vassal or client regimes. The hypocrasy itself threats any real pragmatic alternatives to this collision course these madmen are on to point fingers at who is the biggest threat of all... seems futile.

Iran stated itself clearly to Israel, you strike us preemptively you will have what to reckon with. I assume that goes for whomever actually makes the preemptive strike which at this point if they refuse to negotiate diplomatically will be the PNACers. Why should Israel tarnish it's questionable reputation any farther, if the US will strike instead.

My comments are more in addition to yours rather than in disagreement with yours.

[noonwitch]

8. They weren't when Poppy sold them weapons

and funnelled the profits to the drug dealing contras. I guess it all depends on how much oil they have.

[Zero Gravitas]

9. More of a threat than Iraq ever was

but perception = reality so it doesn't matter that Iraq was never a real threat to the US.

[durutti]

12. Of course not

C'mon. No country is a realistic military threat to the United States.

Nor is Iran a threat to its neighbors. They don't like Iran because it's Persian and Shi'ite, rather than Arab and Sunni. Any kind of aggressive action would be responded to with swiftly by regional forces. Even with nukes, Iran would still have to deal with Israel, Pakistan, India, and the U.S.

The biggest threat (though still not much of one) today is al Qaeda. The way to stop al Qaeda isn't to attack countries, but to apprehend those responsible for 9/11, to crack down on banks and other enterprises that are bankrolling terrorism, to take internal security measures, to pursue disarmament measures, and to pursue what I call a "good neighbor" policy towards the Middle East: seeking a just resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, ending U.S. meddling in the sovereingty of Middle Eastern states, etc.