Nuclear meltdown: U.S. offers Iran N-technology
posted at 2:07 pm on June 6, 2006 by Allahpundit
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Say this much for Billy Jeff: when it happened on his watch, at least it wasn’t intentional.
Charles has this slightly wrong, actually. Whatever Kerry’s advisors were saying at the time, public perceptions of Democratic weakness would have made him think twice before trying something so craven as president. As with Nixon and China, only Bush has enough anti-Islamist cachet to appease Islamists so nakedly.
But then, if they’re going to be getting centrifuges anyway, who cares which country’s flag is stamped on the side?
Details of the proposals have not been made public, but an early draft indicated that if Iran agrees to abandon uranium enrichment, the world would offer it help in building nuclear reactors, a guaranteed supply of nuclear fuel and European Airbus aircraft.
The European offer of light-water reactors meant for civilian nuclear energy purposes was revealed last month, but there had been no previous suggestion that the Americans would also agree to help build Iran’s civilian nuclear program if Tehran freezes enrichment and agrees to negotiations.
Bush has nothing to lose by doing the deal because if he doesn’t, Germany will. If Germany doesn’t, Russia will, etc. It’s a prisoner’s dilemma, and like all prisoner’s dilemmas it’s made possible by the disunity of the participants (read: the west). Some on the left will ignore that and blame our lack of strategic options on Iraq, but if we weren’t there most of them would oppose a military strike on Iran anyway. It’s no different from when they whine about why we haven’t captured Bin Laden: they’re unwilling to accept the consequences of the action they prescribe — invading Pakistan and risking all-out war with a nuclear-armed country — but it’s a clever-sounding little “gotcha” against Bush so they use it anyway.
To borrow a phrase, with great multilateral power comes great multilateral responsibility. An Iranian version of Operation Desert Storm would solve the problem, but how many nations would be willing to contribute troops? Iran’s Arab neighbors and its European “partners in peace” are threatened as much as we are, so why is it America’s and/or Israel’s responsibility alone to rise to the occasion if need be?
Anyway. No wonder Ahmadinejad was so anxious to publish the secret American offer. Think how many other countries will have a lightbulb moment once they find out they too can have reactors of their very own.
Update: Khomeini’s grandson wants war. But it’s not what you think…
Update: I think Jon Henke’s kidding himself, but he’s always worth reading.
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Can you make nuclear power without giving them the material to make bombs?
If so then this thing might be the final way to show the world that the Iranians don’t want ‘civilian power’ they want nukes.
Its probably just a ploy to show that the Iranians really are nuts
Defector01 on June 6, 2006 at 2:09 PM
Amazing that we can’t build Nuclear plants here in America, but we will GIVE them to enemy countries….
Now I’m really confused.
Romeo13 on June 6, 2006 at 2:10 PM
On this Issue – Iranian Nuclear Armament – I must differ with the majority here.
A Nuclear Armed Iran is a disaster – in so many ways – on a short fuse. If Iran wants to increase their energy production without nuclear weapons – may they glow in the dark happily ever after. If Iran is developing nuclear weapons – use every diplomatic means to disuade them from that course – and if they cannot be disuaded blast them into the stone age without hesitation or compromise.
Light Water reactors, it is my understanding, cannot be used to produce weapons grade radioactive material. If Russia will do their enrichment for them to run their reactors, AND IT CAN BE VERIFIED THAT THEY ARE NOT SECRETLY ENCRICHING NUCLEAR MATERALS TO WEAPONS GRADE, a diplomatic solution has been reached with supplying light water reactors.
War is the next step to political decisions when diplomacy has run it’s course. Let us hope that we can avoid it, make every effort to satisfy but not to appease, and when faced with tough decisions – including “appeasement by delay” – the United States takes the true but perhaps tough course.
Contrary to popular opinion I believe this is good news – more efforts to use diplomatic solution without appeasement.
omegaram on June 6, 2006 at 2:23 PM
In the very near future we will be facing a crictial shortage of power plants. The wacko libs for the last 25 to 30 years have stopped the building of power plants of any kind, be it nuclear, or convential power.
birdman on June 6, 2006 at 2:24 PM
Dubya is starting to look like Dick Nixon all over again. Bending over backwards to please liberals – who could honestly give a crap and would rather see him pilloried anyways – all the while pissing off the people who elected him in the first place.
Rush L. is right about Dubya – he’s not a movement conservative. I hope we start seeing some genuine conservative leadership starting in ‘06 and get rid of all these blasted RINOS.
venmax on June 6, 2006 at 2:26 PM
omegaram — But that all assumes that Iran is being sincere when it says that it wants reactors for energy only. You can’t possibly believe that, do you?
Allahpundit on June 6, 2006 at 2:27 PM
Allahpundit – thank you for your response.
Of course I do not believe Iran, not for one second, not for one millisecond, that they are honest in their intentions. Of course they are after nuclear weapons.
However, pursuit of energy production, especially in these times, is legitimate and some believe essential. The caveat to providing Iran with Light Water Nuclear Technology is as I mentioned:
“If Russia will do their enrichment for them to run their reactors, AND IT CAN BE VERIFIED THAT THEY ARE NOT SECRETLY ENCRICHING NUCLEAR MATERALS TO WEAPONS GRADE, a diplomatic solution has been reached with supplying light water reactors.”
VERIFICATION AND INSPECTION IS REQUISITE TO SATISFACTORY AGREEMENT. No Deal without verification – COMPLETE AND TOTAL VERIFICATION – AND don’t take the Iranian’s word on ANYTHING – to put it simply they cannot be trusted to tell you the time of day.
I also believe that this is the first of many such occurances all over the world. Energy production is a fundamental requirement for survival and advancement. Many countries will go down this path and a solution now is imperative to avoid nuclear holocost of biblical proportions.
Believe it or not I also believe that this a great opportunity. Competion to oil for energy production strenghens our hand, reduces resources to hostile foregn powers, provides reason for incrased research and development of safe and clean nuclear energy, and may lead to a new type of energy source or storage that may lead to a revolutionary technology.
I think the idea of providing Light Water Nuclear Techology, or better yet the end product, is brilliant.
omegaram on June 6, 2006 at 2:39 PM
But how would we verify it? Supposedly they have dozens of secret sites spread out throughout Iran. Do you imagine them inviting the IAEA in?
Your argument seems to me premised on assuming the Iranians’ good faith, either in terms of pursuing energy instead of weapons or in terms of allowing inspectors to do their work unobstructed. Or both.
Allahpundit on June 6, 2006 at 2:42 PM
We must not allow Iraq to havs access to the spent fuel. They can use the reactor, they can build and run the reactors. As long as they don’t have access to spent fuel we are ok.
However, we must monitor their reactors to make sure they are not putting any U238 rods inside the containment for external conversion to Pu239.
easy87us on June 6, 2006 at 2:46 PM
Iran, I meant.
easy87us on June 6, 2006 at 2:46 PM
Because this worked so f’in great in North Korea.
see-dubya on June 6, 2006 at 2:53 PM
Allahpundit – I enjoy this discourse – thank you for your participation.
I do not have the technical answers for verification. I can recognize the absolutly essential nature of verification and can only say that “VERIFICATION TO THE SATISFACTION OF THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT BY ANY AND ALL MEANS NECESSARY” is requisite for agreement and to avoid disaster. No compromise on this level of verification should be acceptable.
I presume no good faith on the part of Iran. I assume the opposite – bad faith in every respect to the nth degree. They cannot be trusted to tie their shoelaces on an airplane without lighting their shoes on fire. In fact, the method of verification should assume this, what I believe, is fact.
As far as secret sites throughout Iran, that is probably what they have already done. The Iranians are without doubt several steps ahead in the process.
They will, after much delay and negoiation agree to terms they have every intent of offending from before the moment they finalize any agreement.They will without a doubt continue their pursuit of nuclear weapons regardless of agreement – unless every nook and cranny can be verified.
At some point we must rely on the “experts” to verify, to the satisfaction of those prudently skeptical in the United States Government, that progress to nuclear armament has been eliminated. How that is done is where my answers run out.
omegaram on June 6, 2006 at 2:58 PM
Allahpundit
In a way this is what Bill Clinton should’ve done
Dangle what the Iranians really say they want (Light water reactors that won’t produce plutonium for bombs) with observers and when the Iranians say no we don’t want that, that proves to the world (and the idiots with their heads in the sand) this is one sadistic dangerous SOB who wants bombs.
Defector01 on June 6, 2006 at 2:59 PM
I cannot be the only one that thinks that solving Iran’s “energy problem” in this fashion makes it that much easier for them to focus on clandestine enrichment for weapons.
Haven’t we done this same thing before with Korea? Aren’t the latest headlines discussing Korea’s ability to hit the U.S. with nukes that they were supposed to forego pursuing/acquiring because we solved their “energy problem,” AND such was a sufficient incentive to forego such pursuit.
Isn’t the definition of Insanity doing the same thing over again and expecting a different result? Isn’t the definition of Amnesty a path to Citizenship…. never mind.
America1st on June 6, 2006 at 3:15 PM
I’m inclined to agree with you, Defector01. Despite Bush’s failings, we should remember he is an excellent poker player.
Aunt B on June 6, 2006 at 3:36 PM
Well, here is a bad thought…
It hit me when I was writting another post about the Marines in Haditha being “Innocent until proven guilty”.
We can accuse Iran of wanting a nuke (I beleive they want them) but they keep saying they just want energy. Can we, without being hypocrits, deny them the benafit of the doubt? We are declaring Iran guilty, without evidence or a trial.
Granted, once they get their Nukes Isreal is gone, and that to me seems like too high a price for us to take the “high road”.
Wyrd on June 6, 2006 at 3:42 PM
Doing something, especially something so utterly dumb as to furnish the lunatics in Iran with nuclear technology just because someone else would, is beyond the pale.
And wasn’t George Bush the guy who said, “We will never negotiate with terrorists!”? I guess giving terrorists nuclear technology isn’t really “negotiating” with them.
These people are proven sickos — human life is meaningless to them — and I will never accept as “acceptable” the UNacceptable handing over to terrorist nations material that could potentially or even remotely harm us.
Oh, and what ever happened to that “Axis of evil?”
ForYourEdification on June 6, 2006 at 4:01 PM
Axis of Evil did not poll well with illegal immigrants.
Wyrd on June 6, 2006 at 4:09 PM
Wyrd-
Nation-states and American citizens–Marines–are held to different standards. There’s no guarantee of due process or “innocent until proven guilty” for nations–and there’s no court to try them in. So there’s no hypocrisy in distrusting Iran–we’re under no obligation to trust them or prove anything to anyone but ourselves.
Mind you, even if it were hypocritical, it would still be the right thing to do.
see-dubya on June 6, 2006 at 4:15 PM
Weaken our sovereignty with an insidious immigration proposal, but try to pacify the base with a Constitutional amendment, but hot on the heels of that grant gifts to extortionists?
BTW, I’m unhappy with all three of the above.
Bellicose Muse on June 6, 2006 at 4:17 PM
Russia already offered the exact same thinga few months ago and Iran turned them down.
Bush is calling their bluff proving for all the world to see that the Iranians do NOT want nuclear energy… they want to make bombs.
Skywise on June 6, 2006 at 4:19 PM
Thanks See-Dubya,
that was a viewpont I didn’t think of. I feel better now.
I agree letting Iran get nukes is suicide. And it chaffes my bum to see us offering to give them a reactor when we are not allowed to build new ones here.
Wyrd on June 6, 2006 at 4:25 PM
I think a better idea would be to cut Israel a check to cover their costs of eliminating the problem in Iran, starting at the top. The Israelis could do it in a day, and end this crap. Someone will end up having to do it eventually, and the US Army is busy at the moment…
Of course, if the natives in Iran began rioting as a result, who cares? Nobody there but Iranians anyway. Let them burn the place down, then ask Denmark and France for foreign aid.
Part of me likes it. A lot.
clyde on June 6, 2006 at 4:51 PM
I hope people will remember what happened with North Korea: while IAEA inspectors monitored the place, North Korea continued its nuclear development on the side using material originally supplied by AQ Khan. The monitoring of a nuclear plant only provided false assurance that we could keep an eye on North Korea.
tommy1 on June 6, 2006 at 5:12 PM
Some think that we should stop wasting time talking with these tin horn dictators and show them what nuclear weapons are all about, close up. Tactical Nuke right in the kisser and then ask, “ok, now, who is next?”.
But, maybe that’s what they really want, for us to do something that they believe will unite all Muslims, be a rallying cry for Muslims the world over, and cause them all to rise up and kill every infidel the world over in the name of Allah.
The truth is, these whackos from the sand Nations were virtually unheard of from the end of the Crusades till not too long ago when liberal minded brainless idiots started giving them air time and paying them lip service. Now they won’t play nice OR go away. One small thing that will be exciting if liberals sweep the GOP out of power in the next couple of elections wil be getting to see the fools who actually helped create this problem try to fix it.
I’d imagine that AlGore thinks that he can pursuade the entire world that fighting like this is stupid when we have REAL problems to fix, like global warming, homosexual and animal rights, and not enough taxes. In his alternate world, everyone will be holding hands and singing together.
Hillary will just say that she might have been able to fix it awhile back, but the republicans have it so messed up that she can’t so she will put Bill on it, and Bill will give them our money and technology to remain quite during Hill’s time in office. Sort of like how there is no homelessness anymore when democrats are in power.
Kerry will say, “well, I DID win THREE PURPLE HEARTS”!
Actually, any democrat in power will most certainly attempt to appease them, which will actually embolden them and make the world an even more dangerous place. Liberals won’t understand this though because they cannot learn from their own mistakes, or from history. It’s because the reasoning liberal mind is Godless and simply doesn’t have what is really necessary to reason accurately with, and even if they did, they don’t have the balls to actually DO anything that needs to be done anyway. They want to take away your guns, and control your “free speech” though. Yea, that’ll make the world a safer place. This is depressing me.
WHERE IS THE HOPE???
NRA4Freedom on June 6, 2006 at 6:44 PM
I’m all for sharing nukes with Iran. We can start with four or five on those deep rooted military sites drilled into rock and a few tactical ones the next big military parade.
Hening on June 6, 2006 at 6:55 PM
The problem is, Bush is playing Iran’s game. The way to win is to make Iran play our game.
I guess he has to go through the motions, but when the inevitable military response is called for, who will be with us?
Despite our fury over immigration, we must stand with the President on this one. Just pray there is no “meltdown”.
dman on June 6, 2006 at 7:47 PM
President Mahmoud Ahmedinajad, meet Chairman Kim Jong-Il. (UN functionary leaves)
Call me Jong-Il. I hear you got some good swag from Condi.
Yes, and the Americans will eventually leave Iraq, too. I won’t have to do much of anything, just as you didn’t have to with Clinton and Albright. Call me Mahmoud. BTW, Jong-Il, thanks for the missiles, and please thank your connection in China for shipping them overland so the US Navy couldn’t interdict them.
Your welcome, Mahmoud, but what I want to know is when you will complete the countertrade by shipping us oil. We can use our tankers or Chinese tankers to pick up.
Use the Chinese tankers, Jong-Il because the Americans certainly won’t mess with them. Better would be Indonesian tankers, because they control a strait that the US Navy must use. Now, let me introduce you to my friend, Hugo.
Thank you, Mahmoud. I want to meet him and perhaps do some business.
chsw
chsw on June 6, 2006 at 11:33 PM
Again, conservatives are blustering without thinking. WE are offering them nothing…it is only to gt their intentions. No better than liberal…almost all of ya.
tomas on June 7, 2006 at 11:18 AM
Yes! Brilliant Idea! Let’s give them the airliners to crash into our buildings so they won’t have to go through the extra trouble of hijacking them! Brilliant I tell you!
BirdEye on June 7, 2006 at 12:47 PM
“Some think that we should stop wasting time talking with these tin horn dictators and show them what nuclear weapons are all about, close up. Tactical Nuke right in the kisser and then ask, “ok, now, who is next?”.
But, maybe that’s what they really want, for us to do something that they believe will unite all Muslims, be a rallying cry for Muslims the world over, and cause them all to rise up and kill every infidel the world over in the name of Allah.”
There’s nothing to unite if they’re all dead…….
:)
VonHelton on June 7, 2006 at 5:20 PM
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