Western diplomats report that Iranian scientists are refining large amounts of Uranium Hexafluoride, which can be further refined to create either fuel rods for nuclear reactors, or cores for nuclear weapons. Iran has more oil than they know what to do with, and has no need whatsoever for nuclear power. Clearly, something fishy is going on.
But honestly, are we surprised? Let's do a little role-playing. Okay, pretend you're Ayatollah Khamenei. George Bush has just named you, Iraq, and North Korea as the "Axis of Evil." Iraq is not an immediate threat to anyone, but it doesn't have nuclear weapons. North Korea is potentially an immediate threat to most of Asia, with a huge military and unpredictable leadership, and oh yeah, they also have the bomb.
Who does George Bush attack? The country that doesn't have the bomb.
The lesson here? The Americans don't invade countries that have the bomb.
Now you see that the war in Iraq may or may not be winding down and the Americans are beginning to sniff around your door (remember, you're the Ayatollah now). So what do you do? Well, if it was me I would start refining Uranium Hexafluoride as fast as I could, and get my centrifuges geared up in a Tehran minute to start building me some shiny new atomic bombs.
In a different note, I also can't understand why people on the left are surprised and horrified that Bush named Condoleezza Rice as his Secretary of State. Do people think that things somehow just got worse? I think this is a pretty natural choice, and if anything it makes it easier for other countries to decide how to deal with the US.
I used to respect Colin Powell, but I think he was utterly ineffective as the "voice of reason" for the administration that so many people hoped in vain he might become. In effect, I believe Powell was an enabler for the administration, and helped them build support for some of their more unpleasant policies. Can anyone imagine that there would have been the same amount of international support for the final Security Council resolution against Iraq, if it had been Condi instead of Powell there in the General Assembly two years ago, waving around that little vial of "anthrax"? By appearing as the reluctant moderate, Powell gave legitimacy to the policies that he may have personally opposed.
So now we have Condi as the country's chief diplomat. All pretences gone now, and the rest of the world can see the wolf for what it is, shed of its sheep's clothing.
Posted by case at November 20, 2004 10:39 AM