Distressing news out of Iran yesterday as that nation’s theocratic leaders continue to defy the international community by testing a long-range missile that could reach Europe or Israel.
In a number of interviews I have conducted with him since September, Iraqi Parliamentarian Mithal al-Alusi has warned that Iran is much closer to attaining nuclear capability than most international estimates suggest.
Although he is generally averse to war, he believes a military operation is the only option now for stopping Iran, the sooner the better. For every month that elapses, the human and environmental costs will be greater, he cautions.
Why do international leaders wait?” he says. “To act now is best to save [the most] human beings. In several months, the danger of radioactivity to human beings and nature will be far worse.”
“I think a military operation is the only option now,” he told me recently. “Otherwise, Obama’s vision and the vision of others who look forward to freedom and peace will be a joke and a tragedy.”
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Mithal al-Alusi certainly gives an insightful and unique perspective on Iran.
There are currently 9 countries with nuclear weapons
Russia 12,987
United States 9,552
France 300
Israel 200
United Kingdom 192
China 176
Pakistan 90
India 75
North Korea 2
Having Iran added to the “nuclear weapon club” would certainly be a detriment to stabilization in the area.
However, there does appear to be some progress on nuclear arms control between the US and Russia would could favorably effect the situation with Iran given Russia’s close proximity to Iran:
The United States and Russia have reached agreement on most major issues in a new treaty that would cut their deployed strategic nuclear warheads by one-fourth and allow each side to continue to verify the other’s stockpiles, officials said Friday.
Negotiators have been racing to conclude a replacement for the 1991 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, or START, the nuclear giants’ most extensive nuclear treaty. It expired Dec. 5.
…
Obama sees the treaty as key in reestablishing U.S. credibility on arms control in the run-up to an international conference next year reviewing the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. The U.S. government hopes to tighten the global nuclear regime to discourage countries like Iran from developing a bomb.
The new START treaty is expected to reduce deployed nuclear warheads used for long-range missions from 2,200 to between 1,500 and 1,675.
It also is expected to slash the number of vehicles that can carry nuclear warheads or bombs from 1,600 to about 800. Those vehicles include heavy bombers, intercontinental ballistic missiles and submarines.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/12/18/AR2009121801998.html?hpid=topnews
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