Keeping Up With The Pairs Theme: A Pair Of Nuclear Stories
Ed Morrissey's got the tip for these two stories. The first is in regard to Iran, and a supposed "surprise" they claim to be ready to unveil in a matter of days, according to the Jerusalem Post:
A senior official in Teheran said Wednesday that in the next few days, a "surprise" was expected regarding Iran's nuclear program, Al-Jazeera reported.
Teheran's apparent refusal to suspend uranium enrichment set the stage for a showdown at the UN Security Council later this month.
The United States said Wednesday that a proposal by Iran for nuclear negotiations falls short of UN demands for a halt to enrichment, and began plotting "next moves" with other governments.
Diplomats from Europe, the US, Russia and China pored over details of Iran's counterproposalWednesday, a day after Teheran presented it.Initial comments from Russia and China, however, made clear that the US is likely to face difficulty getting at least those nations to agree to any tough sanctions against Iran.
In Paris, French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy made clear that his government was sticking by the UN demand for Iran to halt enrichment by the end of this month as a precondition to further talks.
"I want to point out again that France is available to negotiate, and to recall that, as we have always said ... a return to the negotiating table is linked to the suspension of uranium enrichment," Douste-Blazy said.
However, Russia's Foreign Ministry said it would continue to seek a political, negotiated solution to the dispute with Iran over the nuclear program. China appealed for dialogue, urging "constructive measures" by Iran but also urging other parties to "remain calm and patient, show flexibility, stick to the orientation of peaceful resolution and create favorable conditions for resuming talks as soon as possible."
Unless they're going to show the world a nuclear weapon, or launch a nuclear strike at Israel, the only surprise they could hit the world with is an agreement to end their enrichment. I'm not holding my breath on that one because they've already said they won't discuss it. They feel they have the right to make on, and dammit, they're going to do it. Wonderful display of bravado on their part, but they need to bear in mind that the woprld also has a right to end their existence if they are too much of a threat with one. That, dear readers, is an option that should never be removed from the table of options.
And how about Russia and China there? They were finally on the side of sanctions just a couple of short weeks ago, and now they seem to be ready to bow and scrape to Iran while calling on their allies to utilize restraint. They want dialogue, they want negotiations, and they want understanding amongst everyone. (This is BS; all they want is their business partner still buying from them, and sanctions end such deals.) It's not surprising that they're calling for such things, and it's also not a shock to see the French volunteer to negotiate, again. They did such a bang-up job with the Israeli/Hezbollah cease-fire, I guess they think that this will be a lot easier. Uh-huh. Right.
But Israel has a little surprise of it's own, and Tehran's not going to be happy about it:
WITH Iran confidently defying pressure to curb its nuclear programme, Israel has signed a contract with Germany to buy two more submarines capable of firing nuclear missiles, it emerged yesterday.
Israeli security sources said the submarines are needed to counter long-range threats from countries such as Iran, whose president has called for Israel to be "wiped off the map".
Israel has been expanding its military in the light of Iran's nuclear ambitions. It already has three Dolphin-class submarines which can fire nuclear missiles, but the newer models can remain submerged far longer.
The deal was signed last month and the submarines will be operational shortly, the Jerusalem Post reported. Germany has agreed to take on the costs of up to a third of the value of the 1 billion deal.
Israel, which has never officially admitted possessing atomic weapons, has an estimated 60-85 nuclear warheads, according to the United States Defence Intelligence Agency.
The country's military planners have a clear preference for submarine-launched nuclear weaponry. Given Israel's small land area, launch sites for missiles would be easy to detect and therefore possible to destroy. Submarine-based missiles give the country a more credible deterrent.
Ha-Ha-Ha; this was unexpected, I'm sure, to Ahmadinejad and his advisors. Israel can't strike Iran directly, but a sub makes their nuclear arsenal quite mobile. This ups the ante in any stand-off between these two. Should Iran decide to flex its muscles, and follow up on it's threat to use oil as a weapon by shutting down the Strait of Hormuz, Israel can sink the blockade. Should Tehran decide to make Israel glow in the dark, the new Israeli subs can rain its arsenal down on them without worries of range.
And what did Iran expect? They have been repeating the mantra of "wiping Israel off of the map" for months now. Israel had to do something, otherwise they were sitting ducks, and they knew it. With Iran's relations to Russia and China now reaffirmed, it's only a matter of time before they acquire missiles capable of striking Israel. This, in essence, is sauce for the goose; the odds will most definitely be even.
Publius II
Ed Morrissey's got the tip for these two stories. The first is in regard to Iran, and a supposed "surprise" they claim to be ready to unveil in a matter of days, according to the Jerusalem Post:
A senior official in Teheran said Wednesday that in the next few days, a "surprise" was expected regarding Iran's nuclear program, Al-Jazeera reported.
Teheran's apparent refusal to suspend uranium enrichment set the stage for a showdown at the UN Security Council later this month.
The United States said Wednesday that a proposal by Iran for nuclear negotiations falls short of UN demands for a halt to enrichment, and began plotting "next moves" with other governments.
Diplomats from Europe, the US, Russia and China pored over details of Iran's counterproposalWednesday, a day after Teheran presented it.Initial comments from Russia and China, however, made clear that the US is likely to face difficulty getting at least those nations to agree to any tough sanctions against Iran.
In Paris, French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy made clear that his government was sticking by the UN demand for Iran to halt enrichment by the end of this month as a precondition to further talks.
"I want to point out again that France is available to negotiate, and to recall that, as we have always said ... a return to the negotiating table is linked to the suspension of uranium enrichment," Douste-Blazy said.
However, Russia's Foreign Ministry said it would continue to seek a political, negotiated solution to the dispute with Iran over the nuclear program. China appealed for dialogue, urging "constructive measures" by Iran but also urging other parties to "remain calm and patient, show flexibility, stick to the orientation of peaceful resolution and create favorable conditions for resuming talks as soon as possible."
Unless they're going to show the world a nuclear weapon, or launch a nuclear strike at Israel, the only surprise they could hit the world with is an agreement to end their enrichment. I'm not holding my breath on that one because they've already said they won't discuss it. They feel they have the right to make on, and dammit, they're going to do it. Wonderful display of bravado on their part, but they need to bear in mind that the woprld also has a right to end their existence if they are too much of a threat with one. That, dear readers, is an option that should never be removed from the table of options.
And how about Russia and China there? They were finally on the side of sanctions just a couple of short weeks ago, and now they seem to be ready to bow and scrape to Iran while calling on their allies to utilize restraint. They want dialogue, they want negotiations, and they want understanding amongst everyone. (This is BS; all they want is their business partner still buying from them, and sanctions end such deals.) It's not surprising that they're calling for such things, and it's also not a shock to see the French volunteer to negotiate, again. They did such a bang-up job with the Israeli/Hezbollah cease-fire, I guess they think that this will be a lot easier. Uh-huh. Right.
But Israel has a little surprise of it's own, and Tehran's not going to be happy about it:
WITH Iran confidently defying pressure to curb its nuclear programme, Israel has signed a contract with Germany to buy two more submarines capable of firing nuclear missiles, it emerged yesterday.
Israeli security sources said the submarines are needed to counter long-range threats from countries such as Iran, whose president has called for Israel to be "wiped off the map".
Israel has been expanding its military in the light of Iran's nuclear ambitions. It already has three Dolphin-class submarines which can fire nuclear missiles, but the newer models can remain submerged far longer.
The deal was signed last month and the submarines will be operational shortly, the Jerusalem Post reported. Germany has agreed to take on the costs of up to a third of the value of the 1 billion deal.
Israel, which has never officially admitted possessing atomic weapons, has an estimated 60-85 nuclear warheads, according to the United States Defence Intelligence Agency.
The country's military planners have a clear preference for submarine-launched nuclear weaponry. Given Israel's small land area, launch sites for missiles would be easy to detect and therefore possible to destroy. Submarine-based missiles give the country a more credible deterrent.
Ha-Ha-Ha; this was unexpected, I'm sure, to Ahmadinejad and his advisors. Israel can't strike Iran directly, but a sub makes their nuclear arsenal quite mobile. This ups the ante in any stand-off between these two. Should Iran decide to flex its muscles, and follow up on it's threat to use oil as a weapon by shutting down the Strait of Hormuz, Israel can sink the blockade. Should Tehran decide to make Israel glow in the dark, the new Israeli subs can rain its arsenal down on them without worries of range.
And what did Iran expect? They have been repeating the mantra of "wiping Israel off of the map" for months now. Israel had to do something, otherwise they were sitting ducks, and they knew it. With Iran's relations to Russia and China now reaffirmed, it's only a matter of time before they acquire missiles capable of striking Israel. This, in essence, is sauce for the goose; the odds will most definitely be even.
Publius II
posted by Syd And Vaughn | 1:50 AM
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