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While the West continues to slumber, Iran has crossed the nuclear threshold to 20% enrichment, the minimum needed for a nuclear bomb. Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad plans to announce it in February, during the celebration of the anniversary of the Islamic Revolution.
In contrast to the bogus 2007 NIE on Iran, both the German BND and French Intelligence have revealed that the Iranians never actually stopped their illegal clandestine program and are well on their way to functional nuclear weapons. According to a widely circulated report in Germany's well-respected Der Spiegel, Iran's plans are well advanced and a secret military branch of Iran's nuclear research program that answers to the Defense Ministry called FEDAT, an acronym for the "Department for Expanded High-Technology Applications" is involved in the construction of a nuclear warhead for Iran's solid fuel versions of its Shahab missiles:
The Iranians are believed to have conducted non-nuclear tests of a detonating mechanism for a nuclear bomb more than six years ago. The challenge in the technology is to uniformly ignite the conventional explosives surrounding the uranium core -- which is needed to produce the desired chain reaction. It is believed that the test series was conducted with a warhead encased in aluminum. In other words, everything but the core was "real." According to the reports, the Tehran engineers used thin fibers and a measuring circuit board in place of the fissile material. This enabled them to measure the shock waves and photograph flashes that simulate the detonation of a nuclear bomb with some degree of accuracy. The results were apparently so encouraging that the Iranian government has since classified the technology as "feasible."
Ahmadinejad's announcement was essentially the Mullah's response to the latest plan the West proposed, with Iran shipping its uranium to Turkey or Russia for enrichment in exchange for various economic inducements. The Iranians initially signaled interest in the plan, ate up some more time and then finally rejected it in a blatantly obnoxious fashion.
The EU response on January 25th was to essentially refuse to enact sanctions on Iran themselves, but to refer the entire mess to the UN Security Council.
Because of China and Russia's vetoes, any response there will likely be some watered down sanctions that mean absolutely nothing, if that. That will enable the parties to look like they're accomplishing something while business continues as usual, especially for a number of European countries like Germany and Italy whom are major trading partners of Iran.
The sanctions of course were always simply an excuse for holding talks about talks while doing absolutely nothing.That's what they were designed for, and that's what's been going on now for six years - six years - while the centrifuges have continued to turn and Iran has continued to fortify its nuclear sites and improve its weapons technology while being surprisingly open about its ultimate intentions.
And what of the United States? President Obama's idea of action involves mild, 'targeted sanctions' that avoid impacting Iran's major point of vulnerability - refined fuel imports. I
Starting with the famous 'unclenched fist', our amateur president's actions have been a major force in emboldening the mullahs.
After setting a September 2009 deadline for major sanctions Obama simply did nothing and kicked the can down the road until the end of December...after which he did absolutely nothing again.
Instead, we were treated to continuous rounds of useless diplomacy that was always destined to fail because the Chinese and the Russians made it clear that they were never going to come on board.They said so repeatedly.
For that matter, even the administration must know that the idea of sanctions is a charade. Real sanctions that might make a difference would involve a naval and air blockade of Iran, military action Obama is obviously not comfortable with.
President Obama wasn't even willing to do or say anything to exploit the internal unrest in Iran over the elections. In the streets of Tehran and Isfahan,the Iranian protesters repeatedly chanted slogans asking Obama if he was with them or with the regime.Our president's response was to vote 'present' and make sure the mullahs knew they had a free hand.
Meanwhile Iran took over Lebanon through their proxy Hezbollah and re-armed them in blatant disregard of UNSC 1701, the Iran backed Shi'ite Alliance has pushed Iraqi PM Maliki out of their coalition and look to take over Iraq in the next elections and Iran continues to foment violence and terrorism all over the region, even against our troops in Afghanistan.
Our president's response to all this? Absolutely nothing. In fact, Administration figures are still talking about 'engagement' and 'sanctions'!
If Obama actually wanted to help along a resurgent Iran armed with nuclear weapons, he could scarcely have done better. And so far, there's absolutely no sign whatsoever he intends to change course.
In later years, our posterity will marvel at how the West slept and allowed Iran to develop into the threat it has become the same way we marvel at how passive the West was to the rise of Hitler. As for Obama, if things continue as they are an entire generation of Americans faced with the pain and the fallout of having to deal with a nuclear armed Iran and its terrorist proxies will treat him with a visceral contempt not even seen after Richard Nixon resigned.
The one bright spot in this dismal picture remains Israel,who has never lost sight of Iran as the existential threat that it is and retains both the will and the means try to do something about it.
It would be one of the supreme ironies of history if Israel, the despised Jew among nations manages to stop Iran's headlong rush to Armageddon and save the West as well as the presidency of Barack Hussein Obama,the most anti-Israel president America has ever had.
-selah-
