(Washington Times) Clifford D. May - When the current round of negotiations began, the goal was to persuade Iran's rulers to dismantle a nuclear weapons program they claimed they didn't have, didn't need and didn't want. Little by little, Iran's skilled negotiators turned the talks upside down: The agreement currently under discussion would legitimize their industrial-size, advanced-centrifuge-powered nuclear program with unlimited enrichment capacity. If Iran's rulers are patient and abide by the terms of the agreement, they will be welcomed into the nuclear club in little more than a decade. If they are impatient and violate the terms of the agreement - as they have consistently violated past obligations - they could have nukes much sooner. Meanwhile, Iran's development of intercontinental ballistic missiles - a program whose only purpose is to provide a means to deliver thermonuclear warheads to targets overseas - will continue unimpeded. The writer is president of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.
2015-07-09 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive