Ahmadinejad and International Law

From an editorial in the Jerusalem Post yesterday:

First, President Ahmadinejad should have been declared an inadmissible person and placed on the “United States’s Watchlist” of persons barred from entering the country. For American law excludes from entry any person who has engaged in, or incited to, terrorist activity, or who “has used his position of prominence to endorse or espouse terrorist activity in a way that undermines United States’ efforts to reduce or eliminate terrorist activities.”

The evidence of Iran’s complicity in terrorist activity is clear and compelling. Ahmadinejad’s Iran has recruited, trained, financed, instigated and armed its terrorist proxies such as Hamas, Hizbullah and Islamic Jihad, whose platforms and policies are replete with genocidal calls and terrorist activity that outdo even its Iranian patron.

Moreover, Ahmadinejad is in standing violation of the Genocide Conventions prohibition against the “direct and public incitement to genocide,” which alone should be cause for exclusion. If it be argued that no precedent exists for excluding an sitting president, it should be recalled that Austrian president Kurt Waldheim was placed on the “US Watchlist” for his participation in the persecution of civilian populations during the Second World War.

The author goes on to explain how the United States failed its duty to the world miserably by allowing the Iranian leader to speak. It’s a compelling argument, and one I agree with wholeheartedly. Then again, had I heard on FOX about someone “accidentally” pushing him into traffic, I need to admit…I’d have raised a toast.

Because It Worked So Well Before

United States diplomats have ceded a major concession to Iran: we will provide them with nuclear technology if they promise to stop enriching uranium.

Such a dimplomatic strategy is mind-boggling in its pure genius, especially since it worked so well when Clinton gave the same sweet deal to North Korea. Yeah, the same North Korea with nuclear weapons galore. Ummm…yeah, the same North Korea with a psychotic dictator.

But nevermind - any similarity between the two situations is entirely coincidental and does not mean we should draw any foregone conclusions or learn from our mistakes. It is no big deal when psychotic dictators are armed with nukes, as we can plainly see with the passive and harmless North Korea.

Part-time Pundit agrees with me and says we’re practically all Democrats now! “We’re only America, of course we should grovel to third-world crackpots! It’s not like they’ve ever invaded an embassy or anything.”

Jolly good, old chaps.

Iran Tests “Civilian Energy Components”

Jerusalem Post:

Iran conducted a test launch Tuesday night of the Shihab-3 intermediate-range ballistic missile, which is capable of reaching Israel and US targets in the region, Israel Radio reported. The test came hours before Prime Minister Ehud Olmert met with US President George W Bush in Washington to discuss the Iranian threat.

Military officials said it was not clear if this most recent test indicated an advance in the capabilities of the Shihab 3. They said the test was likely timed to coincide with the Washington summit and with comments made by Hizbullah leader Hassan Nasrallah during celebrations in Beirut marking the 6th anniversary of Israel’s withdrawal from southern Lebanon.

Iran’s New Dress Code

Iran’s parliament, called the Islamic Majlis, just passed an ominous dress code as law. It will go into effect when Iran’s “Supreme Guide” Ali Khamenehi, approves it.

First, all Iranians must wear identical “Islamic garments”. Silly, but hey, they’re all about religious oppression over there, so if that’s what turns ‘em on… The problem is that same law also requires any Jew or Christian in the country to wear a colored badge that would identify them as a *ahem* religious minority. Jews would wear a yellow strip, Christians red, and Zoroastrians blue. Lovely. All the better to persecute you with, m’dears.

Now, believe it or not there are actually about 25,000 Jews living in Iran. They must be insane.

UPDATE 5/21: Iran is vigorously denying the story. And they only want nuclear energy, not weapons. I believe ‘em.

Downfall

Another stunningly provocative piece of artwork by D.T. Devereaux. My g-d, it’s outstanding.

(click to enlarge and see the detail)

Here’s why the artist crafted this piece:

I couldn’t resist doing the piece after listening to an analyst on CNN discussing the merits of the Iranian nuke; namely, wouldn’t it be hypocritical and unfair of us to deny the Islamic Republic of Iran nuclear technology? After all, America has nukes; India has nukes; the damn dirty Joooos have the nukes! Why not the Iranians? Never mind the doom-tongued proselytizing rumbling out of Iran for the past 30 years. Never mind Iran’s proud contributions to worldwide jihad. Never mind the repeated threats to wipe an entire county off the face of the earth and to incinerate Washington with a fiery, nuclear Holocaust. Never mind Iran’s contributions to the unrest in Iraq, the deaths of coalition troops and Iraqi civilians. None of that matters. What is paramount is that our foreign policy with proven belligerents must be sensitive, considerate and unequivocally non-judgmental.

Uproarious is the fact that in all other cases you can find these same backstabbers bemoaning nuclear proliferation yet here, for some unfathomable reason, with Iran they’re encouraging it. I am reminded of Brian Williams’ assertion that, apropos the Iranian revolutionaries of ’79, our own founders could have been considered terrorists. I am reminded when Senator Kerry, during the last Presidential debate, lectured us about the need to set an example by eliminating our nuclear stockpiles; after which he tried to sell us on the virtues of his plan to provide the Iranians with nuclear fuel (they’d be trustworthy enough to return the spent fuel rods, of course; probably into the equally trustworthy hands of a steadfast U.N. bureaucrat, no doubt.) Hey, what could possibly go wrong? After all, it worked for Carter and Clinton and Kim Jong, didn’t it? “Ok, naughty Communist dictator, if we give you all these nukie toy parts, you absolutely double-dog pinky swear have to promise not to make a super duper big bad bomb, ok?”

In any event, watching the CNN clip then turned into a lengthy discussion with an associate as to the legitimacy of asking such a question as, “Is it hypocritical to deny Iran nuclear technology?” Nazi that I am, I responded that such a question was “stupid and unnecessary,” and that the “putative high-mindedness” of such a question represented a “dangerous waste of time.” Of course, I was then accused of the jackbooted squelching of free speech; of being so narrow-minded as to be blind to the benefits of opening up policy discussions to such complex questions.

A team of U.S. commandos apprehends Osama bin Laden. During his arrest, a member of the team wonders whether bin Laden was justified or not in attacking America and whether or not he should be set free until we can be absolutely certain. Have fun walking home, solider.

What’s even more nauseating is that the individual asking this question is not ignorant of the danger a nuclear Iran poses. Oh no, they’re quite frightful. Nonetheless, they cannot—will not—defy their programming; instead they continue to rally behind the people and policies which helped create and continue to foster this very crisis! It’s madness. It’s defeatism. It’s completely unnecessary but here we are: we’ve all become so crippled by the fetish of our own high-mindedness that making simple, prejudicial, but informed judgments about how best to insure our own survival are scoffed at as lacking “nuance.” Instead, we must submit, lest we be accused of being hypocrites, the question of our very security to some perfectible process whereby our national interests must be weighed against the interests of polities that are unabashedly hostile to our own.

Well, don’t let me stand in the way of your personal death wish. After 9/11 I was amazed that there were people who were convinced that “we deserved it.” It really infuriated me that there was a not-insignificant-number of Americans who would so causally betray the lives of thousands of their own countrymen, unsuspectingly struck down by cowardly fanatics, in favor of attaching their loyalty to whatever illusory idea of karmic justice fit their political biases. Well, guess what? I agree with you! If you think we (and that’s ‘we’ as in ‘you;’ not some other unfortunate, sacrificial slob) deserved 9/11 and that we deserve something similar yet again, I’m not going to argue with you. It’s all our (i.e. “your”) fault and we (remember, that means “you”) deserve whatever horribly tragedy might be heading our way.

Similarly, if you think it selfish and hypocritical of us to deny the Iranians their natural right to nuclear technology (and to provide them with the benefit of the doubt that they’ll use their nuclear technology for peaceful purposes, notwithstanding everything I’ve outlined above, to say nothing of their broader religious obligation to destroy us infidels,) then I hope that you get what you wish for. You’re right. I’m wrong. Cities may crumble and flesh may burn–but by Marx’s greasy carbuncles–never let it be said that we were hypocrites!

Thinking yet? Synapses firing? Well, there’s more. Remember my previous question - Are Our Heads In The Sand? Yes. How timely is this further discussion???

Read on…

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A ‘Lil Bit ‘O Brain

So Iran’s President Ahmanidingdong wrote a top secret letter to our President - the *gasp* first such missive in 27 long, lonely years. Which irrefutably proves that he’s all serious about nuclear power, and not nuclear WEAPONS, right? Not so fast, says Iran’s top nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani. The tone of the letter does not soften their stance:

He also warned against any US attack against Iran.

“If they have a little bit of a brain, they would not commit such a mistake,” he said. “Iran is not Iraq. Iraq was a weak country, it did not have a legitimate government. Iran is a powerful country.”

*eyeroll* Whatever.

Vice Premier Shimon Peres said Monday that “the president of Iran should remember that Iran can also be wiped off the map.”

Hell, yeah, it can. Good riddance.

NEWS FLASH: Rottweiler has the exclusive inside scoop on the top secret contents of the stern missive sent from Iran’s President to ours:

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Iran’s Martyr Battalions - Terrorism Made To Order

But, but, but…we need to talk to them some more. They can be reasoned with. Uhhh…right?

TEHRAN, Iran — Iran has formed battalions of suicide bombers to strike at British and American targets if the nation’s nuclear sites are attacked. According to Iranian officials, 40,000 trained suicide bombers are ready for action.

The main force, named the Special Unit of Martyr Seekers in the Revolutionary Guards, was first seen last month when members marched in a military parade, dressed in olive-green uniforms with explosive packs around their waists and detonators held high.

Dr. Hassan Abbasi, head of the Centre for Doctrinal Strategic Studies in the Revolutionary Guards, said in a speech that 29 Western targets had been identified: “We are ready to attack American and British sensitive points if they attack Iran’s nuclear facilities.” He added that some of them were “quite close” to the Iranian border in Iraq.

In a tape recording heard by The Sunday Times, Abbasi warned the would-be martyrs to “pay close attention to wily England” and vowed that “Britain’s demise is on our agenda.”

At a recruiting station in Tehran recently, volunteers for the force had to show their birth certificates, give proof of their address and tick a box stating whether they would prefer to attack American targets in Iraq or Israeli targets.

Terrorism “done your way”. Would you like fries and and a drink with your Israeli or American death wish??

Iran’s Foreign Policy of Mystic Hoo-doo

I received this article in my email from American Congress For Truth. Originally, I was going to excerpt it, but as I re-read it, more and more of it seemed necessary to publicize.

I thought I’d heard the craziest stuff about Islam, the Religion of Peace Piss - but this stuff is serious riki tiki hoo-doo. Read it and tell me that we can sit at global diplomatic tables and negotiate with these loons:

By Amir Taheri [former Executive Editor of Kayhan, Iran's largest daily newspaper, but now lives in Europe]

The Sunday Telegraph

Last Monday, just before he announced that Iran had gatecrashed “the nuclear club”, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad disappeared for several hours. He was having a khalvat (tête-à-tête) with the Hidden Imam, the 12th and last of the imams of Shiism who went into “grand occultation” in 941.

According to Shia lore, the Imam is a messianic figure who, although in hiding, remains the true Sovereign of the World. In every generation, the Imam chooses 36 men, (and, for obvious reasons, no women) naming them the owtad or “nails”, whose presence, hammered into mankind’s existence, prevents the universe from “falling off”. Although the “nails” are not known to common mortals, it is, at times, possible to identify one thanks to his deeds. It is on that basis that some of Ahmadinejad’s more passionate admirers insist that he is a “nail”, a claim he has not discouraged. For example, he has claimed that last September, as he addressed the United Nations’ General Assembly in New York, the “Hidden Imam drenched the place in a sweet light”.

Last year, it was after another khalvat that Ahmadinejad announced his intention to stand for president. Now, he boasts that the Imam gave him the presidency for a single task: provoking a “clash of civilisations” in which the Muslim world, led by Iran, takes on the “infidel” West, led by the United States, and defeats it in a slow but prolonged contest that, in military jargon, sounds like a low intensity, asymmetrical war.

In Ahmadinejad’s analysis, the rising Islamic “superpower” has decisive advantages over the infidel. Islam has four times as many young men of fighting age as the West, with its ageing populations. Hundreds of millions of Muslim “ghazis” (holy raiders) are keen to become martyrs while the infidel youths, loving life and fearing death, hate to fight. Islam also has four-fifths of the world’s oil reserves, and so controls the lifeblood of the infidel. More importantly, the US, the only infidel power still capable of fighting, is hated by most other nations.

According to this analysis, spelled out in commentaries by Ahmadinejad’s strategic guru, Hassan Abassi, known as the “Dr. Kissinger of Islam”, President George W Bush is an aberration, an exception to a rule under which all American presidents since Truman, when faced with serious setbacks abroad, have “run away”. Iran’s current strategy, therefore, is to wait Bush out. And that, by “divine coincidence”, corresponds to the time Iran needs to develop its nuclear arsenal, thus matching the only advantage that the infidel enjoys.

Moments after Ahmadinejad announced “the atomic miracle”, the head of the Iranian nuclear project, Ghulamreza Aghazadeh, unveiled plans for manufacturing 54,000 centrifuges, to enrich enough uranium for hundreds of nuclear warheads. “We are going into mass production,” he boasted.

The Iranian plan is simple: playing the diplomatic game for another two years until Bush becomes a “lame-duck”, unable to take military action against the mullahs, while continuing to develop nuclear weapons.

Thus do not be surprised if, by the end of the 12 days still left of the United Nations’ Security Council “deadline”, Ahmadinejad announces a “temporary suspension” of uranium enrichment as a “confidence building measure”. Also, don’t be surprised if some time in June he agrees to ask the Majlis (the Islamic parliament) to consider signing the additional protocols of the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT).

Such maneuvers would allow the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) director, Muhammad El-Baradei, and Britain’s Foreign Secretary, Jack Straw, to congratulate Iran for its “positive gestures” and denounce talk of sanctions, let alone military action. The confidence building measures would never amount to anything, but their announcement would be enough to prevent the G8 summit, hosted by Russia in July, from moving against Iran.

While waiting Bush out, the Islamic Republic is intent on doing all it can to consolidate its gains in the region. Regime changes in Kabul and Baghdad have altered the status quo in the Middle East. While Bush is determined to create a Middle East that is democratic and pro-Western, Ahmadinejad is equally determined that the region should remain Islamic but pro-Iranian. Iran is now the strongest presence in Afghanistan and Iraq, after the US. It has turned Syria and Lebanon into its outer defences, which means that, for the first time since the 7th century, Iran is militarily present on the coast of the Mediterranean. In a massive political jamboree in Teheran last week, Ahmadinejad also assumed control of the “Jerusalem Cause”, which includes annihilating Israel “in one storm”, while launching a take-over bid for the cash-starved Hamas government in the West Bank and Gaza.

Ahmadinejad has also reactivated Iran’s network of Shia organisations in Bahrain, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Yemen, while resuming contact with Sunni fundamentalist groups in Turkey, Egypt, Algeria and Morocco. From childhood, Shia boys are told to cultivate two qualities. The first is entezar, the capacity patiently to wait for the Imam to return. The second is taajil, the actions needed to hasten the return. For the Imam’s return will coincide with an apocalyptic battle between the forces of evil and righteousness, with evil ultimately routed. If the infidel loses its nuclear advantage, it could be worn down in a long, low-intensity war at the end of which surrender to Islam would appear the least bad of options. And that could be a signal for the Imam to reappear.

At the same time, not to forget the task of hastening the Mahdi’s second coming, Ahamdinejad will pursue his provocations. On Monday, he was as candid as ever: “To those who are angry with us, we have one thing to say: be angry until you die of anger!”

His adviser, Hassan Abassi, is rather more eloquent. “The Americans are impatient,” he says, “at the first sight of a setback, they run away. We, however, know how to be patient. We have been weaving carpets for thousands of years.”

So I read the mystic hoo-doo about the Hidden Imam and thought it couldn’t get any kookier. Then today I came across this article by Mark Steyn:

President Ahmadinejad, who is said to consider himself the designated deputy of the “hidden Imam,” held a press conference this week — against a backdrop of doves fluttering round an atom and accompanied by dancers in orange decontamination suits doing choreographed uranium-brandishing. It looked like that Bollywood finale of ”The 40-Year-Old Virgin,” where they all pranced around to “This Is The Dawning Of The Age Of Aquarius.” As it happens, although he dresses like Steve Carell’s 40-year-old virgin, the Iranian president is, in fact, a 40-year-old nuclear virgin, and he was holding a press conference to announce he was ready to blow. “Iran,” he said, “has joined the group of countries which have nuclear technology” — i.e., this is the dawning of the age of a scary us. “Our enemies cannot do a damned thing,” he crowed, as an appreciative audience chanted “Death to America!”

OK, beyond the whole kook-factor thing… the fact that Iran has nuclear capability, has gone into “mass production”, and is possibly less than a year away from weaponized nukes, would elicit a swift and vicious response from the world community, wouldn’t you think? But then again, here’s the world’s leaders’ stern responses to Iran’s capering:

The White House said that Iran “was moving in the wrong direction.”
…
The British Foreign Office said it was “not helpful.”

OOH. Well, that’ll do it. Consider Iran laughing its ass off.

On that happy note, next time you’re bored, consider this for shits and grins:

You know what’s great fun to do if you’re on, say, a flight from Chicago to New York and you’re getting a little bored? Why not play being President Ahmadinejad? Stand up and yell in a loud voice, “I’ve got a bomb!” Next thing you know the air marshal will be telling people, “It’s OK, folks. Nothing to worry about. He hasn’t got a bomb.” And then the second marshal would say, “And even if he did have a bomb it’s highly unlikely he’d ever use it.” And then you threaten to kill the two Jews in row 12 and the stewardess says, “Relax, everyone. That’s just a harmless rhetorical flourish.” And then a group of passengers in rows 4 to 7 point out, “Yes, but it’s entirely reasonable of him to have a bomb given the threatening behavior of the marshals and the cabin crew.”

That’s how it goes with the Iranians. The more they claim they’ve gone nuclear, the more U.S. intelligence experts — oops, where are my quote marks? — the more U.S. intelligence “experts” insist no, no, it won’t be for another 10 years yet. The more they conclusively demonstrate their non-compliance with the IAEA, the more the international community warns sternly that, if it were proved that Iran were in non-compliance, that could have very grave consequences. But, fortunately, no matter how thoroughly the Iranians non-comply it’s never quite non-compliant enough to rise to the level of grave consequences.

It’s all fun and games until somebody gets hurt…

Iran Warns U.S. - “We’re Ready…Bring It.”

This week, Ahmandinejad said that Israel is on the road to annihilation, whether we like it or not. He also sneered that nothing Secrentary of State Condi Rice says counts, “She is free to say whatever she wants”, and added with a huge grin, “We give no importance to her comments.”

Now, his top general has issued a military warning to the U.S.:

“You can start a war but it won’t be you who finishes it,” said General Yahya Rahim Safavi, the head of the Revolutionary Guards and among the regime’s most powerful figures.

“The Americans know better than anyone that their troops in the region and in Iraq are vulnerable. I would advise them not to commit such a strategic error,” he told reporters on the sidelines of a pro-Palestinian conference in Tehran.
[...]
“I would advise them to first get out of their quagmire in Iraq before getting into an even bigger one,” General Safavi said with a grin.

“We have American forces in the region under total surveillance. For the past two years, we have been ready for any scenario, whether sanctions or an attack.”

Further playing up the theme of a hindered and powerless U.S., a senior cleric, Ayatollah Ahmad Janati simply branded the U.S. as a “decaying power” lacking the “stamina” to block Iran’s ambitions.

Iran is less than a year from producing weaponized nukes. I’d like to ask any Liberal how many resolutions we should try before we do something. How about 18 or 23 or so like we tried with Iraq? Maybe 12 more years, like we dinked around with Saddam, will do the trick? Hmmmm…let’s think about this for a looooong, loooooong time. And then let’s talk about it for even looooooonger…

Bubba Clinton’s Legacy - A Nuclear Iran

Here’s an intelligence fiasco worthy of erudite Johnny English [He knows no fear. He knows no danger. He knows nothing.].

There’s a dust-up in the blogosphere about the news that, in 2000, the Clinton Administration gave slightly flawed plans for nuclear weapons to IRAN in an ill-advised scheme called Operation Merlin. On paper, I’m sure someone who’s watched too many cheesy spy flicks might think it looked like a freakin’ cool idea, man. But the reality is that it’s come back to kick us in the pants. Thus, a nuclear Iran will be Bubba Clinton’s [He knows nothing.] legacy to the world.

The operation, which took place during the Clinton administration in early 2000, was code named Operation Merlin and “may have been one of the most reckless operations in the modern history of the CIA,” according to Risen.

It called for the unnamed scientist, a defector from the Soviet Union, to offer Iran the blueprint for a “firing set” — the intricate mechanism which triggers the chain reaction needed for a nuclear explosion.

The Russian was told by CIA officers that the Iranians already had the technology detailed in the plans and that the ruse was simply an attempt by the agency to find out the full scope of Tehran’s nuclear knowledge.

But, contrary to orders not to open the packet, he added a note which made it clear he could help fix the flaws for money.

What apparently has everyone in a tizzy is two fold:

1. Bubba [He knows nothing.] Clinton is a strategic and tactical moron who is an absolute boob when it comes to national security.

This is just another chapter in the Bill Clinton saga of giving weapons technology to enemies of the United States. He’s provided missile technology to the Chinese, which increased the accuracy of their ballistic missiles, and he provided nuclear technology to the North Koreans that eventually enabled them to develop nuclear weapons.

Risen said the Clinton-approved plan ended up handing Tehran “one of the greatest engineering secrets in the world, providing the solution to one of a handful of problems that separated nuclear powers such as the United States and Russia from rogue countries such as Iran that were desperate to join the nuclear club but had so far fallen short.”

Mark Levin, director of the Landmark Legal Foundation, said that thanks to Clinton Iran was able to “leapfrog one of the last remaining engineering hurdles blocking its path to a nuclear weapon.”

2. James “Buy-My-Book” Risen, the guy who broke this news in State of War, is the same NYT reporter who made headlines last year when the same book “broke” the four year old “news” that the NSA was wire-tapping terrorist agents and acquaintances. While the MSM has gone crazy over so-called “NSA spying scandal”, they haven’t touched any of the Clinton-sold-nuke-technology-to-Iran thing. Not even Risen’s employer, the NY Times.

Ironically, Risen’s New York Times has declined to cover Mr. Clinton’s Iranian nuclear debacle — concentrating instead on his book’s dubious claims that the National Security Agency was first authorized to commence domestic wiretapping by President Bush…

NewsMax stated that Risen’s report could also have serious implications for Sen. Hillary Clinton’s 2008 presidential campaign. Mrs. Clinton has been sharply critical of President Bush’s handling of the Iranian nuclear crisis, complaining that a nuclear-armed Tehran would be a much more serious threat to the US than Iraq. However, NewsMax may be proven wrong about Sen. Clinton if the news media continue to ignore this story.

“Don’t hold your breath waiting for the elite media to create a frenzy over this story. They will never hurt either Clintons with such a damning report,” says former intelligence officer Sid Francis.

Three months ago, someone posted this story at Free Republic, as it was written up in a Middle Eastern newspaper. Infowars also covered the news based upon an article in The Guardian.

Apparently, everyone in the world has known about this except the American public due to our MSM’s virtual blackout on the subject.

Riehl World View has some clues as to why the MSM has been so silent on the subject and points to a three month old Newsweek article and a Tim Russert interview interview with James Risen that discusses the ramifications of this type of intelligence info being made public.

From the Newsweek article: A spokeswoman for the CIA said, “If it’s false, it shouldn’t be in his book. If it’s true, it shouldn’t be in his book.”

A statement issued by the CIA about James Risen: “It is ‘most alarming’ that the author ‘discloses information that he believes to be ongoing intelligence operations, including actions as critical as stopping dangerous nations from acquiring nuclear weapons. Setting aside whether what he wrote is accurate or inaccurate, it demonstrates an unfathomable and sad disregard for U.S. national security and those who take life-threatening risks to ensure it.’”

From Tim Russert’s Interview with James Risen: “By revealing this operation, which you acknowledge may be ongoing, aren’t you violating national security?” He followed it up with this: “Aren’t you tipping the Iranians and the North Koreans as to what might be an ongoing operation?”

Risen’s eloquent response to both questions above? “I don’t believe so. I think that this—as I said, this operation took place six years ago…” Wow - that’s pure genius. “Duh - I don’t think so.”

To our readers here at ER, I’d like to suggest that we look a little past the obvious kerfluffles above to something that seems to have escaped everyone’s notice so far. Iran has claimed all along that it only wants nuclear capability for civil energy purposes, right?

Iran claims that its nuclear power is for peaceful purposes and that it will help free up oil and gas resources for export, thus generating additional hard-currency revenues.
[...]
President Mohammad Khatami said on 23 December 2002 that Iran was committed to its obligations and had no intention to develop nuclear weapons. He said that Iran’s willingness to send spent fuel back to Russia showed that it did not want to use it for weapons, since the nuclear waste from Bushere plant would be taken to Russia for safekeeping.

Severely intellectually-handicapped morons have actually bought that line of BS, right? Liberal arguments in support of Iran’s claims have ranged from “It’s Iran’s right to have nuclear energy, just like any other country” to “Israel and the U.S., both armed with nukes, have no right to talk”. Others have merely shrugged and said it’s a matter of national sovereignty and prerogative.

So now can we quit wasting valuable time with such stupendously stupid arguments now? PLEASE? Liberals need to stop pretending Iran has civilian purposes for their nuclear proliferation. The obvious point of this news about Clinton’s moronic Operation Merlin is that we have KNOWN for YEARS that Iran had a nuclear weapons program. We knew enough to craft a case to convince Doofus [He knows nothing.] Clinton to slip them the trigger technology for a nuclear warhead.

AJ at The Strata-Sphere says:

Clearly it was a reckless move. What, pray tell, was the upside? Why take a risk like this unless there was a HUGE payoff? Please note the timeframe for this - 2000 - the election year. That means Tenet was head of the CIA. The turf wars between CIA, State and DoD were raging under Clinton as well as Bush. But this mistake demonstrates the CIA had a lot of serious problems right before 9-11.

Jay at STACLU agrees and calls it: “Absolutely reckless, and a huge risk without any obvious good side to it that would justify the risk factor involved.”

Protein Wisdom goes into a little more depth and posits:

“The last 30 years have seen such a deterioration in our intelligence capabilities—and, correspondingly, the public’s faith in them—that one can only hope that all the leaking we’ve seen coming from the CIA is but a last ditch (and, let’s pray, ultimately unsuccessful) effort on the part of many entrenched intelligence lifers to discredit those like Porter Goss who are working on fixing the problems, starting with a rigorous attempt to rid us of those in the intelligence bureaucracy, and breaking down the artificial barriers we have constructed to protect us from ourselves.

Because right now, we need protecting from outside evils—and the luxury we had in the heady pomo days of self-recrimination and hyperpower guilt to punish ourselves for our own international power is behind us.”

Good idea. Because, by the way, in case anyone missed it on Monday, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad announced that Iran had successfully produced enriched uranium: “I formally declare that Iran has joined the club of nuclear countries.” This triumphant announcement was the third major development this year on the way to producing an atomic bomb, leaving only one more step.

That next development – metalizing the enriched uranium to fit it into a warhead – could come as soon as four months from now, says author Jerry Corsi, who has watched the predictions in his book Atomic Iran unfold since it was published one year ago.

“They have only one more problem to solve,” Corsi said. “The world has got to stop thinking about these Iranians as backward, just because Ahmadinejad has a radical religious agenda. They have all the technical knowledge and all the money they need to solve these problems.”

Couple that with the fact that in January, Iran successfully tested a missile with solid fuel, and just last week, a U.S. official reported Iran now has ballistic missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads:

Iran now has ballistic missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads, according to military experts.

While Tehran denies it is trying to develop a nuclear arsenal, ballistic missile experts advising the United States say it has succeeded in reconfiguring the Shahab-3 ballistic missile to carry nuclear weapons, the London Telegraph reports.

“This is a major breakthrough for the Iranians,” said a senior U.S. official, according to the London paper. “They have been trying to do this for years and now they have succeeded. It is a very disturbing development.”

Recent test firings of the Shahab-3 by military experts show Iran has been able to modify the nose cone to carry a basic nuclear bomb, the experts conclude.

Texas Rainmaker says, “And if all of that isn’t bad enough, don’t forget that John Kerry is prepared to ‘offer Iran the nuclear fuel they need for peaceful purposes.’”

With elected nincompoops like this leading the way, we’ll be the death of ourselves yet, won’t we????