As far as I am concerned, what this article describes is horrible. Barack Obama shows a clear ignorance of the facts in this matter, and a typical American style of arrogance and belligerence. The most recent National Intelligence Estimate has been routinely suppressed and ignored by the Bush administration, but it bodes ill indeed if Barack Obama also intends to suppress and ignore this document. He should be criticised on this important issue and called to task for continuing to repeat the BushCo lies.
Richard Jehn / The Rag Blog
Iran must be kept from developing nukes: Obama
November 8, 2008
CHICAGO — An international effort must be made to keep Iran from developing a nuclear weapon, U.S. President-elect Barack Obama said on Friday.
“Iran’s development of a nuclear weapon, I believe is unacceptable,” he said at a news conference in Chicago. “Iran’s support of terrorist organizations, I think is something that has to cease,” he said.
Obama said he would be reviewing a letter from Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, congratulating him on his election, and would “respond appropriately.” But he said the U.S. approach to Iran could not be done in a “knee-jerk” fashion. “I think we’ve got to think it through,” he said.
Source / Reuters India
Maybe the key word is ‘weapon’; as opposed to developing nuclear powered plants for energy within their country.
I couldn’t read the document (my eyes are too old and too weak).
I also agree that we should not react in ‘knee-jerk’ fashion to ANYTHING (including articles that are written by a myriad of writers who often slant the material to serve their point and purpose).
I think after reading the 9-page pdf document, it’s safe to say that Obama doesn’t have to put a high priority on this issue because the report indicates the following:
F. We assess with moderate confidence that Iran probably would use covert facilities—
rather than its declared nuclear sites—for the production of highly enriched uranium for a
weapon. A growing amount of intelligence indicates Iran was engaged in covert uranium
conversion and uranium enrichment activity, but we judge that these efforts probably
were halted in response to the fall 2003 halt, and that these efforts probably had not been
restarted through at least mid-2007.
G. We judge with high confidence that Iran will not be technically capable of producing
and reprocessing enough plutonium for a weapon before about 2015.
Since Obama doesn’t take office until 1/20/09, this gives him a full term to address the topic which I’m sure he’ll do diplomatically and objectively.
While the document indicates that Iran could be developing the nuclear weapons covertly, then it seems necessary to determine who, what, and where this action is taking place. If the current administration and Obama as the next, are convinced that to keep any information they have about a covert operation secure, they will continue to allow Iran to believe they are watching ‘Iran only’ (as a country). Too much public information on a topic like this, would be negligent as part of a security effort to prepare appropriate action when/if required, by the USA.
Further, Obama is still no a sitting president; he still has to maintain a measure of courtesy and discretion in ANY remarks he makes – be it about Nancy Reagan and her ‘seances’ or definitely about a critical military situation and strategy.
It’s the need to know; and in that we have to trust our leadership no matter how much we have been betrayed in the past – that is the way it goes … in any country.
This seems to fit with the theme of the post as well:
TEHRAN (Reuters) – Iran’s Foreign Ministry dismissed on Monday comments by U.S. President-elect Barack Obama about Tehran’s disputed nuclear ambitions and said it did not expect any major change in the policies of its old foe.
Obama called on Friday for an international effort to stop Iran developing a nuclear bomb, saying it was “unacceptable.”
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Hassan Qashqavi repeated Tehran’s official position that nuclear weapons had no place in the Islamic Republic’s defense doctrine.
“We need a change in the erroneous impressions of the United States,” he told a news conference, broadcast and translated by Iran’s English-language Press TV station. “It is very clear that Iran does not … possess nuclear weapons.”
Iran says its nuclear plans are to make electricity so it can export more oil and gas. But its refusal to halt sensitive work has drawn three sets of U.N. sanctions and U.S. measures.
Washington severed diplomatic ties with Iran shortly after its 1979 Islamic revolution and is spearheading the drive to isolate Tehran over its nuclear activities.
Iranian officials have said Obama’s victory showed Americans wanted a fundamental change from the policies of President George W. Bush, who branded Iran part of an “axis of evil.”
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad last week congratulated Obama, who has said he would harden sanctions on Iran but has also held out the possibility of direct talks.
“Can the gentleman (Obama) bring about change or not? Let us wait and see,” Qashqavi said.
Asked whether he believed Obama would hold talks with the present Iranian government or whether he preferred to wait for Iran’s 2009 presidential election, Qashqavi replied: “We shouldn’t expect fundamental, revolutionary changes in American policy … This is equally true when it comes to the Islamic Republic of Iran.”
Qashqavi said Iran was studying a letter from European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana on the nuclear issue. Solana represents the six powers — the United States, Britain, Russia, China, France and Germany — in talks with Iran.
Iranian media reported on Monday that a proposal put forward by the six powers in June, under which they would hold off from further sanctions if Iran froze enrichment expansion, was raised in talks between Iranian MPs and officials in Brussels.
(Reporting by Fredrik Dahl; Editing by Elizabeth Piper)