nuclear-news

Bibi’s full-court press included a speech before the powerful American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) where—to the sound of rattling sabers—he drew parallels to the Holocaust  and insisted: “I will never let my people live in the shadow of annihilation.”

Pro-Israel groups, meanwhile, are using the debate over what to do about Iran’s nuclear program to delegitimize  President Obama while waging a smear campaign against critics of a preemptive strike.

They’re joined by three of the four Republican candidates for president, who interrupted their Super Tuesday campaigning just long enough to engage in a bit of politicized fear-mongering. Mitt Romney took the cake with his ludicrous assessment that, “If Barack Obama gets re-elected, Iran will have a nuclear weapon.”…

1. There is no hard evidence that Iran is building a bomb.

The most recent round of anxiety over Iran’s nuclear program stems from a November report by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) that suggests the Iranians are not being completely forthcoming about their uranium enrichment program and have blocked investigators from visiting certain sites. (You may recall Saddam Hussein did the same thing for years following the first Gulf War.) Iran has since agreed  to let IAEA inspectors into the disputed site.

Meanwhile, all 16 U.S. intelligence agencies agree that while Iran may have the intention to build a nuclear warhead, they have not been actively engaged in development for years. ….

2. Bombing Iran would probably be illegal.
By most accounts launching a preemptive strike on Iranian targets would be a violation of international law. Under Article 2.4 of the United Nations Charter, unilateral use of force is only justified in response to an attack or when faced with an imminent threat of attack. ….

3. America doesn’t need another war. 
Remember, back in 2003, that whole song and dance about weapons of mass destruction and how it was only a matter of time before Saddam Hussein used them on his neighbors or allowed them to fall into the hands of terrorists? Well, you’re hearing the encore right now….  Ten years later, our cavalier march into Baghdad—popularized by the unconfirmed “threat” of WMDs—has left us more than $1 trillion in the hole and the region actually less safe. …..

4. Bombing Iran could destroy the citizens’ rampant pro-America feelings. 
The Iranian populace is among the most America-friendly of any country in the Middle East—so much so that the regime has expressed its concerns in the past about its citizens’ rampant pro-Americanism. It’s well documented. ….

5. Diplomacy, not military action, is still the best option. 
Even if all the previous assertions were wrong, the single fact remains that diplomacy has more potential to dissolve the Iranian nuclear crisis than military confrontation. …   http://blogs.phillymag.com/the_philly_post/2012/03/08/flawed-case-attack-iran/