Sunday, April 09, 2006

Going Nuclear in Iran

Just in case the prospect of a new war in the middle east wasn’t enough to curl your toes. The administration, apparently unchastened by their string of glaring failures & absurdly optimistic military projections is seriously considering the use of tactical nuclear weapons in Iran. This is a HUGE deal. It would erase the taboo on nuclear use & weaken the only firebreak that kept us alive for the long decades of MAD. It has very serious potential consequences in the India/Pakistan, the Taiwan strait... Not to mention the potential human & economic costs in the middle east. Be Very Afraid.

“The Bush Administration, while publicly advocating diplomacy in order to stop Iran fro pursuing a nuclear weapon, has increase clandestine activities inside Iran and intensified planning for a possible major air attack...The lack of reliable intelligence leaves military planners, given the goal of totally destroying the sites, little choice but to consider the use of tactical nuclear weapons. “Every other option, in the view of the nuclear weaponeers, would leave a gap,” the former senior intelligence official said. “ ‘Decisive’ is the key word of the Air Force’s planning. It’s a tough decision. But we made it in Japan.”

http://www.newyorker.com/fact/content/articles/060417fa_fact