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Bill Frist: Time to act on Iran’s nuclear ambitions
The State. com (S. Carolina) ^ | Dec. 29, 2005 | BILL FRIST

Posted on 12/29/2005 5:50:42 PM PST by FairOpinion

Iran’s ruling mullahs have waged a 26-year campaign to suppress dissent, support terror and pursue a nuclear weapons program. In recent weeks, it has become clear that international efforts to stop Iran’s atomic program have failed to bear fruit. Unless we act quickly, the United States will have a nuclear crisis on its hands.

Iran has missiles capable of striking Israel, parts of Europe and American forces in the Middle East. It also appears that rogue Pakistani nuclear scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan has given Tehran’s ruling clerics the blueprints for a nuclear warhead. Veteran Iran-watchers believe that the nation could soon use its supposedly civilian nuclear program to produce weapons-grade fissile material.

If we let Tehran develop nuclear weapons covertly while IAEA negotiations slog forward, Iran’s theocrats will have little reason to negotiate with anyone. The United States needs to act before a regime that has denied the real Holocaust unleashes another.

Mr. Frist, R-Tenn., is U.S. Senate majority leader. He wrote this column for the Los Angeles Times.

(Excerpt) Read more at thestate.com ...


TOPICS: Extended News; Foreign Affairs; Front Page News; Israel; News/Current Events; War on Terror
KEYWORDS: 109th; frist; frontpage; iran; irannukes; nuclear
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Frist is right.
1 posted on 12/29/2005 5:50:43 PM PST by FairOpinion
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To: FairOpinion

Amen. Now let's stop talking and get with the program while we have our resources in the region.


2 posted on 12/29/2005 5:52:54 PM PST by 308MBR (Not only older, but bolder. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.)
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To: FairOpinion

"Frist is right."
>>>>>>>>>>>>..............
yep lets form a committee and study the problem. thats the ticket.THe standard frist tactic bluff and then fold..


3 posted on 12/29/2005 5:54:02 PM PST by ConsentofGoverned (if a sucker is born every minute, what are the voters?)
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To: FairOpinion

Bill Frist: but what about free trade


4 posted on 12/29/2005 5:58:11 PM PST by cope85
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To: FairOpinion

Realizing that war is horrible and not a football game, I wonder how long it would take to go into Iran and take out their nuke program?
The Rats would go nuts but the world would be a safer place.
As for those countries that are doing big biz with Iran, sometimes life isn`t fair


5 posted on 12/29/2005 5:58:13 PM PST by bybybill (GOD help us if the Rats win)
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To: FairOpinion

Diplomacy won't work here. There are too many players with interests in IRAN.


6 posted on 12/29/2005 6:00:05 PM PST by TheLion
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To: FairOpinion
Mr. Frist, R-Tenn, time to get something done in that lame a$$ body they call the Senate (anything). Even a wet dream would be an improvement!

My Republican votes have been wasted!
7 posted on 12/29/2005 6:00:37 PM PST by Herakles
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To: TheLion

GEOSTRATEGY-DIRECT INTELLIGENCE BRIEF
Russia sells missiles to Sudan, Syria, Libya
Among 7 nations designated by U.S. as state sponsor of terrorism







The United States has determined that Russia continues to sell missiles and rocket-propelled grenades to such countries as Libya, Sudan and Syria.

The State Department has identified a series of state-owned Russian companies as selling the weapons to the three Arab countries over the last two years. U.S. officials said the Moscow government ignored repeated warnings to halt the sales of the conventional weapons.

Officials said Tula Design Bureau of Instrument Building sold anti-aircraft and anti-tank missiles to Libya, Sudan and Syria. The State Scientific Production Enterprise Bazalt exported grenades. Another company cited was Rostov Airframe Plant 168.

Last week, the State Department announced sanctions on the three Russian companies but avoided penalties on the Russian government. Under the sanctions, the three firms will not be able to trade with the United States.

Industry sources said the sanctions will have no affect on the activities.

Libya, Sudan and Syria are among the seven countries that the United States has designated as state sponsors of terrorism. The others on the State Department list are Cuba, Iran, Iraq and North Korea.

The companies are not the first Russian firms to be sanctioned by the United States. In 1998, the State Department listed several companies linked to the Russian Atomic Energy Ministry for allegedly exporting equipment used for conducting nuclear-weapons tests.

In 1999, 10 additional firms were listed for allegedly transferring sensitive technologies to Iran. Three Russian companies were sanctioned for selling military equipment to Syria.




8 posted on 12/29/2005 6:00:51 PM PST by cope85
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To: FairOpinion

I'd be very careful in a pre-emptive strike. Might want to get a "warrant" first, to make sure no "civil liberties" are violated as we make a parking lot out of Tehran. The Great Oz Has Spoken


9 posted on 12/29/2005 6:01:14 PM PST by WyCoKsRepublican
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To: TheLion

China and Iran Test-Fire Missiles
Charles R. Smith

Against the backdrop of impending military action by the United States against Iraq, China and Iran have recently conducted tests of their own ballistic missile forces.

On Aug. 28, following Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage's visit to Beijing, the People's Liberation Army 2nd Artillery Corps conducted a successful flight test of its Dong Feng (East Wind) 4 missile from a launch site in southern China.

The two-stage Dong Feng 4 limited-range missile was designed initially to hit the U.S. air base at Guam and later modified to increase its range to be able to strike Moscow. The large liquid-fueled missile is armed with an H-bomb warhead equal to 3 million tons of TNT and has a range of over 4,000 miles.

China is estimated to have approximately 20 of the powerful ICBMs, which are capable of striking U.S. military assets in the Asia-Pacific theater, as well as targets in Russia and Europe.

Most of the Dong Feng 4 missiles are stored in tunnels under high mountains, and are launched immediately outside the mouth of the tunnel. The missiles must be moved into the open and fueled prior to firing, an operation dubbed "chu men fang pao" or "shooting a firecracker outside the front door."

PRC Missile Diplomacy

The Chinese missile test was considered by Western intelligence sources to be a signal by Beijing that it will continue to develop, deploy and export missile technology despite a new agreement with the Bush administration on weapons proliferation.

According to a recent report by the U.S.-China Security Review Commission, China is a leading exporter of missile technology. According to the report, Chinese proliferation of weapons, "particularly in the Middle East and Asia," poses a serious threat to the security of the United States.

"China fails to control the export of dual-use items that contribute to the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and their delivery systems," noted the commission's report, which was published in August.

"China is a leading international source of missile-related technologies," states the report. The report also noted that China has reneged on previous promises and continues to export missile technology to Libya, Iran and Syria.

State Department Denies Visas to Chinese Space Experts

In a move seen as a response to Beijing's missile diplomacy, the U.S. State Department has decided to deny visas to about 20 Chinese space experts invited to attend the World Space Conference in Houston this fall. Over 6,000 scientists, engineers and policy-makers are expected to show up for the space conference scheduled to start in October.

The State Department flagged several members of the Chinese delegation due to "technology-transfer concerns." The word inside Capitol Hill is that the attendees were actually high-ranking military officers from the Chinese Army 2nd Artillery Corps.

North Korea and Iranian Missiles

Meanwhile, Iran also carried out an unsuccessful test of its Shahab-3 missile. The failed test flight from northern Iran occurred late last month. The Shahab missile test reflects ongoing Iranian development of the medium-range rocket, which can strike Israel, Turkey and parts of India.

The Shahab missile is reported to be a derivative of the North Korean No Dong missile. U.S. intelligence sources have accused North Korea of working with Iran for several years to develop the Shahab system.

In a recent speech in South Korea, Under Secretary of State John Bolton labeled Pyongyang "the world's foremost peddler of ballistic missile-related equipment, components, materials, and technical expertise" and a top exporter of missiles to "notable rogue state clients such as Syria, Libya and Iran."

According to Bolton, North Korea's connections with Iran and Iraq, the other countries labeled by President Bush as constituting the "axis of evil," are reason enough to continue sanctions against Pyongyang.

"There is a hard connection between these regimes – an axis along which flow dangerous weapons and dangerous technology," stated Bolton.

Another sign of war in the Middle East comes from Israel. Israel has moved to defend critical targets in case of attack from Iran or Iraq. The Israeli air force has deployed units of U.S.-made Patriot anti-ballistic missiles close to the Dimona nuclear reactor in the south of the country. The Patriots are expected to assist a unit of Arrow anti-ballistic missiles already deployed in southern Israel in the event of retaliatory missile strikes from Baghdad.

U.S. Tomahawk Armed With Directed-Energy Warhead

An additional indication that war with Iraq is in the near future comes with reports that the U.S. Navy is deploying Tomahawk cruise missiles armed with newly developed "directed energy" warheads. Several Navy warships in the Gulf region are armed with the new Tomahawk missiles.

According to U.S. Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. John P. Jumper, the strategy to use the new missiles is "in the works."

"You have to coordinate the effects, no matter what forms they take," noted Gen. Jumper. The new Tomahawk missiles are said to be equipped with warheads that produce high-power microwaves. The directed-energy warheads are intended to scramble military computers and destroy sensitive electronics. The most likely targets for the new warheads are Iraq's Chinese-made air defense system and Iraqi chemical storage facilities.




10 posted on 12/29/2005 6:01:52 PM PST by cope85
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To: Herakles

UK 'sells' bomb material to Iran


DTI is accused of approving controversial exports

British officials have approved the export of key components needed to make nuclear weapons to Iran and other countries known to be developing such weapons.
An investigation by BBC Radio 4 programme File on Four will disclose that the Department of Trade and Industry allowed a quantity of the metal, Beryllium, to be sold to Iran last year.

That metal is needed to make nuclear bombs.

Britain has had an arms embargo to Iran since 1993 and has signed up to an international protocol which bans the sale of Beryllium to named countries, including Iran.

MP's concerns

Liberal Democrat foreign affairs spokesman, Menzies Campbell, who has been alerted to the BBC programme's material, is said to be extremely alarmed.

Beryllium is a metal with a limited number of high-tech uses in civilian industry, but is mostly used in defence applications and is a vital component in a nuclear bomb.

The programme has also interviewed a leading nuclear weapons expert in the UK who says that the Beryllium and other items which the DTI has licensed to Iran add up to a shopping list for a nuclear weapons programme.

The UK has an arms embargo against Iran, but not a trade embargo.


Export control weaknesses

The programme highlights the weaknesses in the UK's new export control system, which was set up to stop the proliferation of nuclear weapons.

It will reveal that Iranian procurement agents have been working in the UK to get sensitive material back to Iran, and that Pakistan has also been successful in procuring material for its nuclear programme from here.

It is also likely to cause concern among Britain's allies.

President Bush named Iran as part of an "axis of evil" accusing the Iranian regime of sponsoring terrorism.




11 posted on 12/29/2005 6:02:31 PM PST by cope85
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To: FairOpinion

Why? I thought France and Germany were handling this?


12 posted on 12/29/2005 6:04:02 PM PST by joonbug
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To: Herakles

Republican better wake up ,they will stay home and not vote


13 posted on 12/29/2005 6:04:03 PM PST by cope85
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To: cope85

Probably written before the Iraq war?


14 posted on 12/29/2005 6:08:18 PM PST by TheLion
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To: FairOpinion

Senator Frist can't scare Republican Senators, he can't scare Democrat Senators, I doubt he can scare the mullahs either.


15 posted on 12/29/2005 6:09:38 PM PST by NeoCaveman (If we ever banned air conditioning, I think people would move back, - Bob Bennet, Chairman Ohio GOP)
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To: WyCoKsRepublican
TO: The Great Oz

From: Viking2002

SUBJECT: Pre-Emptive Stike Logistics

HUMBUG.

LMAO


16 posted on 12/29/2005 6:12:53 PM PST by Viking2002 (Allah FUBAR!)
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To: dubyaismypresident

He can frown at them real hard


17 posted on 12/29/2005 6:18:44 PM PST by scottinoc
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To: bybybill

The problem is that I think we already waited too long -- they have moved their nuke program deep underground (literally) so bombing them wouldn't be easy -- if we had tactical nukes, the development of which I think Congress didn't authorise, then we could just drop them in the right places, there would be some underground explosions, but the problem would get taken care of.


18 posted on 12/29/2005 6:27:22 PM PST by FairOpinion (Happy New Year!)
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To: bybybill

"Realizing that war is horrible and not a football game, I wonder how long it would take to go into Iran and take out their nuke program?"

In the Balkans we waged a sort of warfare from the air, and didn't lose any American lives in ground combat.

For a decade in Iraq, we flew over and occasionally bombed some facility believed to be arms related.

If our goal was limited to keeping Iran from nuclear weapons capability, it could possibly be done from the air.

To defeat Iran on the ground, hold and occupy pending a new government would be a bigger exercize than Iraq, if based on the size of the civilian population.

However if the civilian population really loves us like some posters here claim, it might be something to be done from air and on ground.

I don't think we are ready yet, politically, to invade Iran. I suspect a poll of voters would reveal it to be very unpopular.

However I would predict support for "surgical" bombings of nuclear facilities.


19 posted on 12/29/2005 6:28:36 PM PST by truth_seeker
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To: FairOpinion
THE IRAN PREGAME SHOW!
20 posted on 12/29/2005 6:29:40 PM PST by p23185 (Why isn't attempting to take down a sitting Pres & his Admin considered Sedition?)
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