- 9 December 2011
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- 1 Comments
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- Let's Talk Iran, Nuclear file, Sanctions, US-Iran War
The Parallels Between Iraq and Iran
9 December 2011 Posted By Lily Samimi
What are the parallels in Iraq’s former nuclear program and Iran’s current nuclear program? What can we learn from the Iraq of the past when dealing with Iran of the present? We discuss these questions and more with expert on Iraqi weapons of mass destruction program and current assistant professor at the Norwegian Defense University College, Malfrid Braut-Hegghammer. Click here to read Malfrid’s recent piece in the NY Times entitled, “The Real Lesson of Iraq”.
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One Response to “The Parallels Between Iraq and Iran”
Your guest is a rational thinker; however, those
on the US side are “not” rational thinkers. No
tangible pain came to Mr. Bush and his immediate
administration for, wrongly, taking up a war in
Iraq. Mr. Bush’s pain was “not” eat sweet as
dessert (to keep uniformed folks dieing in Iraq in
his mind); that’s all. The b/s that Israel would be
in immediate danger is just that, a total b/s. Let
us assume Iran has a handful of nukes today and
decides to launch one against Israel. To what
end? What will Iran gain by launching nuke in
Israel? Will it be so that Saudi Arabia get a foot
hole in Palestine? Will it be so Jordon get a
foot hole in Palestine? Will it be to give
statehood to Palestinians?
I mean what will Iran gain by launching nuke in Israel?
Not-a-thing.
If Iran cared for statehood of Palestinians, Iran
would have allowed PLO or Hamas or likes to have
some kind a of a political presence “in” “Iran.” No
such a thing. Will Iran care to help Saudi Arabia get
a foot hole in Palestine by Iran launching a nuke in
Israel, over Iran’s dead body; no way no how. Will
it be so Iran expands its geographical territory to
include Palestine? Not likely, Saudi Arabian will not
role over for Iran to annex Palestine (for what, I
mean is it because of some mineral or industry that Palestine has).
So, the argument that if/when Iran gets nukes it will
use it against Israel is just non-sense.
To-date, the Iranian government has been more rational
players in this matter than US has. Simply because there
is no feather off US’ cap to take up a war with Iran.
No American voted Mr. Bush out of office because of
wrongful war in Iraq, and no American today cares
what-so-ever how many Iraqi died or still dieing (it
is for American freedom that US is fighting in Iraq;
is the thinking in US).
Iran should get nukes, not tomorrow; likely yesterday
to fend off a very likely invasion. How many Americans
thanked Iran for Iran’s help to the Northern Alliance
(which were fighting Taliban long before that
Sept. 11th).
Also, I respectfully disagree with your guest in that
all (or vast intel) was suggesting Iraq had or was
about to re-vamp its WMD program. Only dumb intel or
those who were afraid of having their head chopped
by CIA or MI-6; if they were to tell the facts were
those “thinking” Iraq had (or could have had) a WMD
program. I do need to make a clarification here: by
WMD one has to be clear what type of a weapon of
mass destruction one is talking about. There is a
whole bunch of classes of such. As far as nukes go,
no way no how; any one tells me that Iraq had nukes
or was about to get them in 2003, I’d say they lied
or were stupid or were paid to spread misinformation
(that guy who died of brain cancer, the so called
conservative media guy; what was his name, Bob Novak,
what was the news worthiness of publishing the name
of Wilson’s wife? why not just write some CIA
operative).
Making an a-bomb is not like making a suicide vest
that can be hidden in some basement, it requires
“tons” of uranium ore, massive amount of electricity,
water & road system; and 100s it not 1000s of workers;
not a facility easily hidden. Then to detonate the
nuke, requires sophisticated delivery and detitation
system; none of which can be bought at a corner-store
bakery. Come now, let us be realistic. Then there is the
issue of life-cycle of a nuke; it is not like a bullet
that can be sitting on some storage shelve for decades
and still function.
Let me ask your guest; does she know where US’ enrichment
facilities are? Are those facilities not hidden or
in some re-enforced facility? Where is Israel’s
enrichment facility is? Why is it so alarming that Iran
may have placed its enrichment facility in some
re-enforced bunker? Why, that alone, makes it an enrichment
to make a-bomb? Which IAEA protocol requires such
facility to be above ground in a paper-tin structure
with a bull’s eye on its roof?
Neither US nor her allies of the moment are rational
thinkers on matter of dealing with Iran on enrichment
or nuclear technology. That is, simply, because the decision makers have little to lose; when another
war-of-choice has been started.
Will US and those US has an influence upon sign a
non-aggression treaty with Iran? What will Saudi
Arabia need with $60B (that is billion) worth of
arms from US? Iraq is not there to cause it headache;
Israel will not do anything to Saudi Arabia; Jordon
is not planning on invading Saudi Arabia, etc. Iran
is in a sea of hostiles; the war Iraq wages against
Iran was mostly funded by Saudi Arabia. Has anyone
paid a dime war restitution to Iran?
If anything; the N. Korean and Iraq are examples that
the only reason N. Korea was not invaded was because:
(1) it was physically close to China, and (2) it has
nukes. Iran can meet two of the criteria: it is
physically closer to Russia; that leaves the second criteria: Iran needs to get nukes, like yesterday.
Forget about PhD thesis and rational thinking. US
and her allies are not rational thinkers.