Hello,
But I guess that's the point. In all cases, war is horrible. In a war with Iran, nobody would win in the long run, I believe. Iran might be stopped from nuclear weapons, but at enormous cost. The Iranian regime would be replaced with mobs, including mobs and gangs of terrorists. Iraq would be a picnic compared to Iran.
I don't mean to tell you how things are in your country, not by any means. But I am confident that war would be a disaster. Now, I'm all for war when all other options are exhausted. I want a free and democratic Iran, next to a free and democratic Iraq and Afghanistan :-) But nuclear weapons are more important. If Iran becomes nuclear-armed, it doesn't stop there. Even now, Egypt is currently in the early stages of nuclear weapons development. My great fear is the spread of nuclear arms to terrorists. They could destroy a country in a single shot. Even ignoring Iran, I have a 5% confidence that I won't see a nuclear terror attack in my lifetime. I think it may be inevitable. I hope I'm wrong, though. After all, they used to say that the Soviet Union would never fall. But some harsh words and some muscle tok care of that.
I believe like the president does that the spread of freedom, liberty and democracy is the key to world peace. I am a true believer. Last Sunday proved it for me once and for all. It iced it. It gave me proof that I could see with my own eyes fairly instanteously.
But the problem is time. If I knew Iran wouldn't have a nuclear weapon until December 2006, then I'd be content to wait. Israel believes that Iran will have a Bomb by the summer of 2005. Waiting is incredibly risky. And the stakes couldn't be higher.
Believe me, I wish we could wait. But this is quite literally a ticking time bomb.
I wish you the best!
Iran Tests Nuclear Trigger Mechanism - Opposition
Thu Feb 3, 2005 11:27 AM ET
By Kerstin Gehmlich
PARIS (Reuters) - Iran has conducted successful experiments on a crucial triggering mechanism for a nuclear weapon, an exiled opposition group said on Thursday.
President Bush on Wednesday renewed his accusation that Iran was seeking to develop atomic weapons and called it the "world's primary state sponsor of terror."
Tehran dismisses the accusations and says its atomic ambitions are limited to the peaceful generation of electricity.
The National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), which wants to oust Iran's clerical rulers and has given accurate information on its nuclear sites in the past, said Iran was close to producing the 'neutron initiators' that spark the chain reaction in a bomb.
"Tehran has already succeeded in using beryllium in conjunction with polonium-210 for large scale laboratory testing purposes, and it is getting very close to the point of industrial production," Mohammad Mohaddessin of the NCRI told a news conference in Paris.
Diplomats have already said there is evidence that Iran has bought small quantities of beryllium and tried to buy much more, and that the International Atomic Energy Agency's (IAEA) is examining this as part of a two-year investigation of Tehran's nuclear program.
Beryllium also has many innocent uses, but Mohaddessin said Iran had not only secured significant quantities but also tried to conceal its purchases from the IAEA.
"Tehran currently has enough beryllium to produce initiators for a dozen nuclear bombs," he said.
He said the laboratory tests had been conducted at the Lavizan II site close to Tehran by experts from the Malek-Ashtar Industrial university, which is run by the Defense Ministry.
Germany, France and Britain, acting for the European Union, have been urging Iran to permanently scrap the uranium enrichment that could give it the potential to make nuclear explosives in return for political and economic incentives.
Washington takes a harder line and wants Iran to be reported to the U.N. Security Council for possible sanctions.
The NCRI is a coalition of exiled opposition groups. The State Department lists it and its armed wing, the People's Mujahideen, as terrorist organizations.
Thanks for your comments!