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Wishing Upon Iran

(Wall Street Journal) Editorial - What will it take to persuade the U.S. intelligence community that Tehran's nuclear intentions aren't exactly peaceful? Perhaps nothing short of an explosion. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) released its latest report with the news that the regime has sharply increased its production of 20%-enriched uranium and in much greater quantities than it can possibly need for civilian use. More than a third of the new enrichment is taking place at its Fordow installation, which is inside a heavily fortified bunker carved into a mountain. According to the New York Times, some anonymous intelligence sources still believe the conclusions of a 2007 National Intelligence Estimate (NIE), which argued that Iran put its nuclear weapons work on the shelf in 2003. In this ever-hopeful analysis, Iran might decide that it is better served possessing enough nuclear capability to keep its options open and its enemies on guard, without having to incur the risks of building and maintaining an actual arsenal. But if the mullahs can readily acquire nuclear weapons, they will instantly change calculations in the Middle East and beyond. It would lead almost inevitably to a policy of seeking to placate Tehran at the expense of U.S. allies - lest, for example, some "provocative" Israeli action tempt Iran into building the bomb it nearly possesses anyway.
2012-03-01 00:00:00
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