Tetracide

This thread is designed to illustrate the truth behind the Iranian nuclear crisis. Looking over the evidence that the IAEA, the United States government, and the Iranian government itself have provided, it is the undeniable truth that Iran is seeking to develop a nuclear weapon. There are many factors that lead us to believe this.

Allow us to compare nuclear weapons to a teenager’s car. Teenagers typically receive their first car from their parents based on certain criteria. The teen must be responsible, punctual, and trustworthy. Without such characteristics, a parent would have a difficult time handing over the keys to a machine that, if used improperly, could kill someone. There are currently five nuclear weapon states officially recognized by the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). They include: the United States, the United Kingdom, Russia, France, and The People’s Republic of China. Each of these countries, while not without their own flaws, has demonstrated to be peaceful members of the international community. They have shown responsibility by participating in world-wide decision making under the United Nations, and have contributed to a global economy by participating in free trade and honest entrepreneurship. Iran has failed to demonstrate such characteristics.

On September 16, 2002, the Islamic Republic of Iran declared their desire to begin the construction of a nuclear reactor. Under the NPT, of which Iran was a part, they were well within their rights to construct such a reactor. Subsequently, the IAEA began the process of ensuring Iran’s nuclear program remained transparent and within acceptable parameters. However, as time went by, Iran’s promises of cooperation began to fade. In the words of IAEA Director General Dr. Mohamed ElBaradei on September 8, 2003, “information and access [to Iranian nuclear facilities] were in some instances slow in coming, piecemeal and reactive.” Now it is one thing to be slow in submitting information, but quite another to submit disinformation. Dr. ElBaradei continues: “information provided has been inconsistent with that given previously.”

Growing impatient with the IAEA’s vigorous oversight, Iran began to take action. Iran proceeded with its nuclear testing and rejected the IAEA’s demands to not introduce “nuclear material into its pilot centrifuge enrichment cascade at Natanz.” Expressing its concerns with Iran’s behavior of not only proceeding with nuclear testing without oversight, but also failing to declare nuclear material as required, the IAEA adopted a resolution demanding “Iran remedy all failures identified by the Agency and cooperate fully with the Agency to ensure verification of compliance.”

Iran rejected the resolution, proclaiming that by abiding to its “heavy-handed approach” it would present a “threat of hostile acts by the United States or its client Zionist regime.” Iran itself clearly makes the case that if they were to publicly release information regarding their nuclear program, or comply with a resolution calling for “Iran to provide accelerated cooperation and full transparency” towards its nuclear program it would place them at a militaristic disadvantage over their enemies, the United States and Israel. If Iran’s objective is to develop peaceful nuclear energy for its people, why would it be to any disadvantage, militaristic or otherwise, to disclose all information about their program?

Iran’s irresponsible behavior and disregard for the IAEA’s demands, as well as their inability to timely present full and comprehensive data on their nuclear program, in addition to its proceeding with unauthorized nuclear tests have demonstrated to the world that Iran falls short of the characteristics required to become a nuclear power.

While Iran plays cat-and-mouse with international patience, Iranian nuclear scientists have proceeded in researching nuclear power in the forum of weaponry. According to the CIA, Iran has sought “nuclear-related equipment, material, and technical expertise from a variety of sources.” Iran, in the past, has secretly enriched uranium far past the required level to be used for strictly nuclear energy. It is clear; Iran does not intend to peacefully develop nuclear energy.

Proponents for a nuclear Iran reiterate the argument posed by President Gerald R. Ford. In a strategy paper he said the “introduction of nuclear power will both provide for the growing needs of Iran's economy and free remaining oil reserves for export or conversion to petrochemicals.” Let’s look at this pragmatically. If Iran’s whole reasoning for developing nuclear weapons is to relive the stress on its oil production infrastructure so that it can produce and sell more oil, wouldn’t it be less politically hectic and less expensive if Iran simply increased its number of oil refineries? Doing so would have the exact opposite effect than attempting to develop nuclear energy. The international community would welcome Iran’s effort to put more oil into the world market, thus lowering the price of gas everywhere (having the least effect on the United States considering the U.S. is one of the only nations that does not purchase oil from Iran).

Allowing the Iranian regime to continue its development of weapons of mass destruction is dangerous. The international community has handed over the keys to the car, and an irresponsible, unpunctual, and untrustworthy driver is about to get behind the wheel.

"Those who stand for nothing, fall for anything." - Alexander Hamilton

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Winston Smith

What right does the US or any other power have to interfere with Iran's nuclear power project? For that matter, what right does the US have to interfere with any other nation's quest for nuclear weapons? Has the US renounced the use of these weapons? Has Israel? Has the EU? NO! So why do they think they can demand that a modern Islamic state do what they do not?

Sparta

It's not a right, it's a responsibility.

Winston Smith

Oh. And who decides what is a right and what is a responsibility?

David Duke

The Great United States of America, thats who. We are the mightiest nation on earth and we have to dictate terms to nations who get out of line and bring them to their knees if they do not cooperate. Iran has no need for Nuclear Power plants and they can't be trusted. We must take out the plants and set them back to keep them from building nukes. It is Americas duty as a nation to police these rogue nations. Period. David Duke.

Leo

Is this true? The People’s Republic of China invaded and annexed Tibet. The United States, and the United Kingdom, invaded and occupied Iraq. Both actions were against the wishes of the international community. How can they be 'peaceful members of the international community'?

The BBC reported that the latest IAEA report "found no evidence that Iran was developing a secret nuclear weapons program ..."

This does not mean that Iran is innocent of all intention to develop nuclear weapons, and the IAEA is right to be concerned at the lack of transparency shown by Iran, but there is no evidence, after three years of intense scrutiny by the IAEA, that Iran is developing nuclear weapons.

I am not taking Iran's side in this discussion, but we need to have hard evidence before we accuse anyone of anything, and especially before we attack anyone. That's the law, is it not?

Winston Smith

Seig Heil!

We Americans have no commission from God to police the world: Benjamin Harrison, address to Congress, 1888

David Duke

Thank you!! Seig Heil to you as well. Its a different world with different weapons compared to Harrisons time wouldnt you say?

politicoaware

Every country has a right to nuclear power. Only Iran has the right to decide whether they need or do not need nuclear power(certainly no American who's never been anywhere in the middle-east has the right to say anything about those countries). America and Russia invite the rest of the world to constantly contend with the world-power arena by acquiring their own nukes. Until America and Russia destroy theirs, the largest nuclear arsenal in the world, you can rest assured the threat of nuclear warfare comes first and foremost from those two nations and everyone will think it a joke when they try and admonish others.
Americans are also extremely frivolous with money. America will sink into poverty if it continues to try and claim a very racist superiority over everyone else. We must also remember, most of all, that the US provoked Iran FIRST by funding the coup d'etat in the 1950s to depose Mohammed Mossadeq(for suspected ties to communism which were later proven false) and install the Shah which caused ALL Iranians to see the US as an imposing, money-grubbing, heartless, soul-starving country of insecure, paranoid people who can never do anything for themselves without exploiting people from outside their country. And the rest of the world is catching on to that as well. Iran will get its nuclear power just as India did and there's nothing the US can do about it without losing all of its foothold in the middle-east AND its contending place within the competition against the racing and faster growing economies of China and India. The bigger picture is obviously too big for Americans to comprehend. That's why they will be left behind if they don't wise up.

Winston Smith

If the US cannot strip Iran, they will most likely cannibalize their own, as they did before the great Depression. Only this time the Okies will face a Police State and an all-powerful "Criminal Justice" system that will return Americans to worse than wage slavery. Only when the "man" takes away everything will the dull-witted US public awake to the fascism around them.