[Washington Times] Editorial - The UN's chief nuclear watchdog, Mohamed ElBaradei, stated that he had concluded Iran was seeking nuclear weapons. Recent reports from the International Atomic Energy Agency and the Institute for Science and International Security state that Iran will reach the nuclear threshold this year. Even the December 2007 U.S. National Intelligence Estimate stated that the earliest Iran would have a nuclear capability would be in 2010, which is less than six months away. A nuclear-armed Iran is an existential threat to Israel, Saudi Arabia and other states in the region. The U.S. has chosen a course of action that will not prevent Iran from achieving nuclear capability. Therefore, other countries must take concerted action to stave off the threat. Israel has the best-equipped conventional forces to undertake the mission, though we assume that other regional actors will cooperate on covert operations that no doubt are already taking place. It's a shame the U.S. once again is relying on Israel to be the chief agent for nuclear counterproliferation in the Middle East.
2009-07-07 06:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive