# Iran's nukes **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [June 1, 2006, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irans-nukes/359038 "2006-06-01T17:17:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![seoulsoul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a587f6/32.png) [@seoulsoul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/seoulsoul)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2006, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irans-nukes/359038/1 "2006-06-01T17:17:43Z")
Can we believe **Iran?** [AHGH](http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/5036082.stm) My gut says no, but I remember listening to Colin tell me the truth…wow the scars still linger. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2006, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irans-nukes/359038/2 "2006-06-01T18:05:13Z")
[QUOTE=seoulsoul] Can we believe **Iran?** [/QUOTE] Can Iran believe the US ? Why would they believe we’d talk to them if they _did_ stop “sensitive nuclear activities” ? ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2006, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irans-nukes/359038/3 "2006-06-01T19:12:12Z")
[For Bush, Talks With Iran Were a Last Resort](http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/01/world/middleeast/01iran.html?ex=1306814400&en=3b41103c1e5f3a8e&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss) > [@](#): > > After 27 years in which the United States has refused substantive talks with Iran, President Bush reversed course on Wednesday because it was made clear to him — by his allies, by the Russians, by the Chinese, and eventually by some of his advisers — that he no longer had a choice. Bush’s offer is nothing but an attempt to get the other powers to take the next step towards tolerating sanctions or a US strike on Iran. We’ve got the US ambassodor to the UN already proclaiming that [Iran has the 235 for a bomb:](http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060315/NEWS07/603150342/1009) > [@](#): > > U.S. Ambassador John Bolton said his government’s patience with negotiations is running out. > > He said Iran used the time involved in the talks with France, Germany and Britain to enrich enough uranium to produce nuclear weapons. So how fucking reasonable is it to think that we’d make a good faith offer to negotiate? ---
**Author:** ![Merijeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f05b48/32.png) [@Merijeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merijeek)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2006, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irans-nukes/359038/4 "2006-06-01T19:24:19Z")
[QUOTE=Squink] He said Iran used the time involved in the talks with France, Germany and Britain to enrich enough uranium to produce nuclear weapons. [/QUOTE] Ah, so in actuality they were only **months** from having The Bomb? How long till Bolton starts going on about mushroom clouds over American cities? Maybe he can just plagarize Condi’s previous bodings and thereby save himself enough time to Grecian Formula his moustache? -Joe ---
**Author:** ![athelas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5e9695/32.png) [@athelas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/athelas)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2006, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irans-nukes/359038/5 "2006-06-01T23:24:37Z")
Right. Nothing can possibly go wrong here. Nanananannana! It’s all Bush’s fault! ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2006, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irans-nukes/359038/6 "2006-06-01T23:42:46Z")
[QUOTE=athelas] Right. Nothing can possibly go wrong here. Nanananannana! It’s all Bush’s fault! [/QUOTE] “The Buck Stops Here”. He’s in charge, he gets the blame. Besides, he’s been a walking disaster his entire life. If he’s involved in something, it will likely be a mess, a tragedy, and a failure, and it’s a safe assumption much or all of the blame is his. Failure is what he does. ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2006, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irans-nukes/359038/7 "2006-06-01T23:47:52Z")
[QUOTE=athelas] Right. Nothing can possibly go wrong here. Nanananannana! It’s all Bush’s fault! [/QUOTE] How about you stop speaking in tongues, and actually say what you mean? While you’re at it, could you fill us in on your present stance on the Iraqi weapons. Do you still maintain that they’re ‘out there’, or have you finally seen the sweet light of reason? ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2006, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irans-nukes/359038/8 "2006-06-02T00:39:28Z")
Why don’t we just go there and take the silly think away from them before iran hurts itself or others? No really, just seige the R&D center. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2006, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irans-nukes/359038/9 "2006-06-02T00:44:08Z")
[QUOTE=kanicbird] Why don’t we just go there and take the silly think away from them before iran hurts itself or others? No really, just seige the R&D center. [/QUOTE] Because they’d shoot back, and we’d have a war ? Not to mention that there’s a whole bunch of “R & D” centers, and we have no right to do so anyway. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2006, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irans-nukes/359038/10 "2006-06-02T01:07:51Z")
Like he told the inspectors " do you believe me or your lying eyes" They have Zero credibility when everyone who they slammed turned out to be right. ---
**Author:** ![Otara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a88e4f/32.png) [@Otara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otara)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2006, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irans-nukes/359038/11 "2006-06-02T02:41:12Z")
“He said Iran used the time involved in the talks with France, Germany and Britain to enrich enough uranium to produce nuclear weapons.” Id like to see the statement thats been paraphrased from. I suspect this is more a quoting issue and is meant to be saying he thinks they’re _using_ the time to work towards making more enriched U235, not that they have already successfully used it to make enough U235 to construct some weapons. Otara ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2006, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irans-nukes/359038/12 "2006-06-02T02:44:37Z")
[QUOTE=Otara] “He said Iran used the time involved in the talks with France, Germany and Britain to enrich enough uranium to produce nuclear weapons.” Id like to see the statement thats been paraphrased from. I suspect this is more a quoting issue and is meant to be saying he thinks they’re _using_ the time to work towards making more enriched U235, not that they have already successfully used it to make enough U235 to construct some weapons. Otara [/QUOTE] How would they know, anyway ? Given how terrible our intelligence on Iraq was, I fail to see why I should believe they have clue one about what Iran actually has or is doing. ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2006, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irans-nukes/359038/13 "2006-06-02T03:19:38Z")
[QUOTE=Otara] Id like to see the statement thats been paraphrased from. [/QUOTE] I’d like to see it too, but haven’t found it yet. Here’s Bolton on Iran in 2004: [ran’s Continuing Pursuit of Weapons of Mass Destruction](http://www.state.gov/t/us/rm/33909.htm) And here he is yesterday (May 31): [‘This is Put Up or Shut Up Time For Iran,’ Unilateral Military Action Is ‘On The Table’](http://thinkprogress.org/2006/06/01/bolton-shut-up) (with [video](http://images1.americanprogress.org/il80web20037/ThinkProgress/2006/boltoniran.320.240.mov)) > [@](#): > > CAVUTO: That we would, I’m sorry Ambassador, that we would act alone if we had to? > > BOLTON: That’s why he says no option is taken off the table. But it’s also why he has, the President, has reached out President Putin and other leaders in the past couple of days to say, “We’re making a significant step here,” that will be criticized by many of the president’s staunchest supporters here at home. But he’s taking this step to show strength and American leadership and to say he’s willing to do something that may be unpopular even with some of his supporters, to remove all excuses from Iran and its supporters to say, “We went the extra mile. We gave Iran really, this last chance to show that they are serious when they say they don’t want nuclear weapons.” This is put or shut up time for Iran. Bolton’s been a pretty good indicator of which way Cheney leans these past few years, and the way Cheney leans has been a pretty good indicator of where America goes. It’s not reasonable to dismiss his rants as those of a ‘loose cannon.’ ---
**Author:** ![seoulsoul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a587f6/32.png) [@seoulsoul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/seoulsoul)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2006, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irans-nukes/359038/14 "2006-06-02T15:33:59Z")
[QUOTE=Squink] Here’s Bolton on Iran in 2004: [ran’s Continuing Pursuit of Weapons of Mass Destruction](http://www.state.gov/t/us/rm/33909.htm) [/QUOTE] > [@](#): > > The U.S. Intelligence Community stated in its recent 721 Report that, “Tehran _probably_ maintains an offensive BW program. Iran continued to seek dual-use biotechnical materials, equipment, and expertise. While such materials had legitimate uses, Iran’s biological warfare (BW) program also _could have_ benefited from them. The preceding Quote (emphasis mine) is from the link provided by **Squink**. This sounds like a run up to another war. I clearly remember watching Powell give his presentation to the UN. I remember thinking “wow, if what he is saying is true, the case for war is valid”. It was the whole “if it’s true” thing that stabbed me in the back. **Der Trihs** , I think there is no particular reason for Iran to trust the US. But I don’t see a particular reason for the US to trust Iran. [QUOTE=Squink] Bolton’s been a pretty good indicator of which way Cheney leans these past few years, and the way Cheney leans has been a pretty good indicator of where America goes. It’s not reasonable to dismiss his rants as those of a ‘loose cannon.’ [/QUOTE] Cite? (I’m quite confident you have one, just looking to learn more) ---
**Author:** ![Henry-Finland](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e99b99/32.png) [@Henry-Finland](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Henry-Finland)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2006, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irans-nukes/359038/15 "2006-06-02T16:33:08Z")
Just aside: I was watching Finnish TV yesterday. The Finnish TV commentator in Iran asked all kind of questions, mostly about a chance of war, and one answer rung my bell: _ **“The first bullit shot, will put the barrel price way over 100 dollars”.** _ This answer was given by some moderate top opposition guy in Teheran. Personally I think that US does not stand a chance to begin a war, or to launch some acts of war, against Iran, because then **Iraq** , **Iran** and **Afghanistan** would be one big continuous (neighbouring) battlefield. Iran can also easily close the Persian Gulf, on which shores are **Kuweit** , **Bahrain** and **United Arab Emirates.** And the Persian gulf are the only shores these three countries have. Map here: [Choosing an Online Casino Not on GamStop](http://www.world-maps.co.uk/continent-map-of-middle-east.htm) If you look at the map, you will see that Iran differs from Iran more than one letter. :smack: If Cheney, Bolton et al, want to have Iran united, they should just continue with the talk they talk. Besides, “heavy unrest” in the Arabic world will most probably be the fall of The House of Saudi. And where are we then? :eek: I tend to believe the guy: “The first bullit will…”, but how far will that take the world is hard to say. Also, at what point will our western economy tumble down? 120 dollars a barrell? 140? 160? Henry ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2006, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irans-nukes/359038/16 "2006-06-02T16:34:59Z")
[QUOTE=Henry-Finland] Personally I think that US does not stand a chance to begin a war, or to launch some acts of war, against Iran, because then **Iraq** , **Iran** and **Afghanistan** would be one big continuous (neighbouring) battlefield. [/QUOTE] Since when have consequences stopped these idiots ? ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2006, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irans-nukes/359038/17 "2006-06-02T18:51:13Z")
[QUOTE=Henry-Finland] _ **“The first bullit shot, will put the barrel price way over 100 dollars”.** _ [/QUOTE] Well, that will certainly make the extended car chase through San Francisco a lot more expensive. ---
**Author:** ![Merijeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f05b48/32.png) [@Merijeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merijeek)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2006, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irans-nukes/359038/18 "2006-06-02T19:00:21Z")
[QUOTE=Bryan Ekers] Well, that will certainly make the extended car chase through San Francisco a lot more expensive. [/QUOTE] Come now, we don’t want to start making fun of foreigners’ English skills, do we, eh? -Joe