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You can read here in the 2003 article that in 2004 it was too late to stop
Iran from getting Nuclear weapons. Ask yourself, were they lying then or are
they lying now. The correct answer is they were lying then and now.
Christian Science Monitor csmonitor.com
from the November 28, 2003 edition
Israel: Iran is now danger No. 1
US, Britain, France, and Germany threatened Iran on Monday with sanctions
over its nuclear program.
By Nicole Gaouette | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor
JERUSALEM – Even as the US and European nations press Iran harder to comply
with international law on its nuclear program, Israel is moving ahead with
its own program to check its powerful Middle Eastern neighbor.
Israel is working on a wide range of measures to undermine Iran's nuclear
program, with senior leaders hinting that Israel may take preemptive action
if that is deemed necessary. Analysts here suggest that action may include a
strike similar to Israel's 1981 attack on Iraq's Osirak reactor.
The Israeli initiative includes political, military, and intelligence wings
of government and dovetails with US efforts to contain Iran within the
framework of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
The effort reflects the widespread assessment here that Iran poses a greater
threat than Iraq has for the past decade and is gaining nuclear expertise
more quickly than the US estimates.
"Iran has a clandestine [nuclear] program that is very ambitious," says Uzi
Arad, director of the Institute of Policy and Strategy in Herzilya. "That
country thinks big and fast and ... poses a threat that is very real. Should
it acquire nuclear weapons or even come close, it would completely alter the
Middle East. It's a very ominous threat."
Analysts here argue that the prospect of a nuclear Iran would:
• Threaten Israeli, US, and European security.
• Harden Arab positions in any future peace negotiations.
• Increase militancy and embolden hard-liners.
• Destabilize the Gulf area.
• And encourage other countries, such as Saudi Arabia and Libya, to follow
suit.
History of Iranian concealment
The US, Britain, France, and Germany say that Iran has been concealing
nuclear research for the past 18 years in pursuit of nuclear weapons,
despite signing the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT) in 1970.
On Monday, the four nations agreed on a strongly worded IAEA resolution
promoted by the US that threatens the possibility of UN sanctions should
Iran continue to violate its agreements.
The US charges that Iran is also developing chemical and biological weapons,
though the country is party to conventions curbing them. Furthermore, both
the US and Israel say that Iran is trying to extend the range of its
missiles, which could be used to develop such weapons.
Already, the 810-mile reach of Iran's Shahab-3 missile puts Israel and US
forces in the region in striking range. The US charges that Iran will
probably try to develop missiles capable of hitting Western Europe or the US
itself.
Iran has admitted to concealing aspects of its atomic energy program, but
says it is pursuing alternate energy sources, a claim the State Department
dismissed as "simply not credible."
In testimony to the US-Israeli Joint Parliamentary Committee in September,
State Department official Paula DeSutter said, "The impact of a
nuclear-armed Iran in an already volatile region cannot be underestimated.
As President Bush had made clear, that cannot be allowed to happen."
Israeli officials have echoed that declaration. In November, Israeli media
reported that Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz, on a trip to Washington, told US
officials that "under no circumstances would Israel be able to abide by
nuclear weapons in Iranian possession."
'Existential threat' to Israel?
Meir Dagan, director of Israel's external intelligence agency, the Mossad,
told a parliamentary committee this month that Iran posed an "existential
threat" to Israel, according to the Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper. He
reportedly assured committee members that Israel could deal with this
threat.
Like the US, Israel estimates that Iran is three to four years away from
building a nuclear bomb. But Israel believes that in 2004, Iran will reach
the point at which their nuclear program cannot be stopped.
On the same US trip, Mr. Mofaz told a pro-Israeli lobby group that a nuclear
Iran was "intolerable."
"The implicit message of his statements was that if the Iranian nuclear
program is not stopped in the next number of months, Israel will have to
take action of its own - perhaps even to attack - to prevent nuclear weapons
from falling into Iranian hands," analyst Amir Rappaport wrote in the
Ma'ariv newspaper.
It would not be the first time Israel has taken preemptive action against a
perceived threat. In 1981, Israeli fighter jets launched a successful
surprise attack on Iraq's Osirak reactor, destroying it.
A push against Iran on all fronts
In the meantime, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has upgraded Israel's
efforts against Iran's nuclear program by putting all related committees
under Mr. Dagan's command. Mr. Sharon himself will head a ministerial
committee.
In this multi pronged effort, Israel's foreign ministry will launch a
diplomatic campaign to persuade other countries to work against Iran's
nuclear program. The Mossad will work with foreign intelligence agencies,
the National Security Council will work with the US-Israeli Joint Committee,
and Israel's atomic energy body will focus on technical aspects of Iran's
program and work with the IAEA.
Israel's concern about Iran stems from the country's proximity, its
longstanding hostility to Israel, and its support for groups like Lebanese
Hizbullah, Hamas, and Islamic Jihad.
While these groups launch attacks on Israel and its citizens with Iranian
support, some analysts here say there remains the potential for direct
confrontation between the nations of Iran and Israel.
Zeev Maghen, a senior research associate at Bar Ilan University near Tel
Aviv who studies Iran, disagrees, but he acknowledges, "The amount of
hostility that has built up in the world in general, and the Islamic world
in particular, against my country might push someone over the edge."
"We're the pariah country," Mr. Maghen adds.
A nuclear Iran would also erode Israel's strategic edge. Israel's military,
the world's 14th largest by budget, according to the Center for Defense
Information, is vastly superior to any of its Middle East counterparts.
Israel is also widely understood to have an arsenal of nuclear and other
weapons, though officials deny this. It is not a signatory to the NPT.
"Israel has kept an ambiguous posture about this," says Mr. Arad, "but
clearly, should Iran become nuclear, it would clearly be an adverse
development. The country supports terrorism, has taken a militant line
against the peace process, is hostile to the US, and is active in
anti-American attacks [in Iraq]. It clearly poses a very serious threat to
everybody."
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