Iran’s Nuclear Weapons Program Has Obama In A Huge Bind

Iran’s Nuclear Weapons Program Has Obama In A Huge Bind


UN Intelligence Report Makes BHO’s 2007 Statement Against Bush A Serious Error In Judgement



By Dell Hill

While everybody and his brother is knocking themselves out over the latest Herman Cain accusations, let’s take a look at some news that’s actually important.

“United Nations weapons inspectors released a trove of new evidence on Tuesday that they say makes a “credible” case that “Iran has carried out activities relevant to the development of a nuclear device” and that the project may still be under way…

The report laid out the case that Iran had moved far beyond the blackboard to create computer models of nuclear explosions in 2008 and 2009 and conducted experiments on nuclear triggers. It said the simulations focused on how shock waves from conventional explosives could compress the spherical fuel at the core of a nuclear device — the signature of implosion.

The report also said Iran went beyond such theoretical studies to build a large containment vessel at its Parchin military base, starting in 2000, for testing the experimental feasibility of such explosive compression. It called such experiments “strong indicators of possible weapon development.”…

The report corroborates the conclusion of a much-debated classified National Intelligence Estimate issued in 2007 that Iran had dismantled a highly focused effort to build a bomb in late 2003.  The new report describes recent work conducted in a less coordinated manner.”

ALLAHPUNDIT, writing at HotAir, added this sobering comment as to why the White House just may be reluctant to push for more punishing UN sanctions.

“The news stories about punishing Iran with a thousandth round of sanctions are already on the wires tonight, but I recommend reading this one from the LA Times. It’s a few days old but helpful in detailing just how reluctant the White House is to pursue truly biting sanctions on Iran’s central bank: It’s simply too risky to try that with the global economy this bad given what it might mean for oil prices, and if that’s too risky at this point, so is a bombing campaign. Read this excellent op-ed too on the state of Iran’s enrichment program. They’ve already enriched an usual amount of uranium to a level of purity they don’t need for energy purposes, and by early 2013 they’ll have reached full “breakout” capacity — meaning that they’ll have enough stockpiled HEU that they’ll be able bring it up to weapons-grade level and use that for a bomb in less than two weeks if need be. They’ll be in the same category as Japan at that point, holding a nuclear pistol in one hand and a uranium bullet in the other. All they have to do is chamber the round. No sweat.”

It would sound as though Iran has made an outright threat to close the Strait of Hormuz if the US flexes any further muscle.  To do so would block one of the worlds largest shipping lanes of crude oil from the Middle East and undoubted send the price of all oil related products right through the roof.

As for today’s report; is it time for President Obama to recall his words from 2007?

Dec 4 2007, 9:22 AM ET

Barack Obama says:

“By reporting that Iran halted its nuclear weapon development program
four years ago because of international pressure, the new National Intelligence Estimate makes a compelling case for less saber-rattling and more direct diplomacy. The juxtaposition of this NIE with the president’s suggestion of World War III serves as an important reminder of what we learned with the 2002 National Intelligence Estimate on Iraq: members of Congress must carefully read the intelligence before giving the President any justification to use military force.”

Of course that was SENATOR Barack Obama speaking out against then President George W. Bush as he implored the world to take definitive steps in stopping Iran from its nuclear weapons ambition.  Now the shoe is on the other foot.

Then Senator Joe Biden (D-De) was the Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and he also took issue with Bush for relying on the NIE analysis.

Senator Joseph R. Biden

“The Democrat of Delaware, chairman of Senate Foreign Relations Committee (and Democratic presidential candidate), in a teleconference with reporters Tuesday afternoon:

“What we learned yesterday from the N.I.E. and what President Bush has said in the past I find extremely troubling. Here in October, President Bush raised the specter of World War III with Iran because, as he said, its pursuit of a nuclear weapon — months after he’d been told by our intelligence community it’s likely that Iran had halted its weapons program as far back as 2003.

“And after all we’ve been through, for this president to knowingly disregard or once again misrepresent intelligence about the issue of war and peace, I find it outrageous. This is exactly what he did — exactly what he did in the run-up to the war in Iraq in consistently exaggerating the intelligence that he had available to him, suggesting that Iraq had W.M.D.; the vice president saying Iraq had reconstituted its nuclear weapons program; and so on…

“It further undermines America’s credibility around the world, which is at an all-time low, and it undermines the credibility here at home.”

Hat Tip - rob verdi

Yes, we’ve saved those quotes for just such an occasion, gentlemen.  The ball is now in your court.