The hype about the latest IAEA report about Iran’s nuclear program was much more frightening than the actual content. Yesterday, Joseph Cirincione, the president of the Ploughshares Fund, an organization devoted to preventing the spread of nuclear weapons, informed a seemingly stunned Tony Birtley that most of what’s been revealed “is not new”.
Tony Birtley: What does it say that’s significant to you about the work that Iran is doing now?
Joseph Cirincione: What’s significant actually is that there isn’t that much currently going on, almost all this work is pre-2003. It’s all old data. It all came from that laptop you referred to, the laptop of death, that was disclosed in 2004. There’s suspicions of some work and there’s evidence of some work still going on, particularly computer modelling, but there doesn’t seem to be any evidence of a crash program to build a warhead. That’s what’s so significant. It’s very clear from this report that Iran has not, HAS NOT, made a decision to go to a nuclear weapon, that a nuclear weapon is not imminent or inevitable and thus there’s still time to use diplomacy to convince Iran not to go ahead and build a nuclear weapon.
P U L S E 
The “respected” UK Guardian reported last Wednesday , “Britain’s armed forces are stepping up their contingency planning for potential military action against Iran amid mounting concern about Tehran’s nuclear enrichment programme, the Guardian has learned.” Hopefully, this is just a trial balloon to test the world’s capacity for another Israeli inspired conflict.
Everybody knows the Israelis has a beef with Ahmadinejad and the “Supreme Leader”, but this mention of the Brits took us by surprise. Why now, what’s new and how can the US avoid being dragged into the madness is what we want to know.
Beyond stiff sanctions, it seems ludicrous to openly contemplate military action by anyone during the global economic crisis. The expense of even a surgical strike is beyond affordable, considering there’s no immediate threat to anyone’s life, limb or liberty. This ain’t Libya!
Worse yet, is the absolute certainty Iran will want to respond with acts of terror that could cost billions to secure ourselves against. Even if said acts are not successful, the American people will be back to the same old crap of living in fear.
All over again, it’s the old “we must be constantly vigilant” B.S. Hell, what if people are tired of being vigilant, tired of giving foreigners the fish eye, tired of the ”if you see something, say something 24/7 idiocy. And let us not forget all of us who’ve tired long ago, of allowing some TSA asshole poke our assholes at the airport, just to go on vacation. What if Americans just want to chill for a change?
While the Guardian’s article did state Barack Obama, has no wish to embark on a new and provocative military venture before next November’s presidential election, it also stated, those calculations could change because of mounting anxiety over intelligence gathered by western agencies, and the more belligerent posture that Iran appears to have been taking.
And then there was this: “Western intelligence agencies say Israel will demand that the US act if it believes its own military cannot launch successful attacks to stall Iran’s nuclear programme. Demand? Really? WTF is up with that? Damn, just when you think you can take a break…