Wednesday, January 04, 2006

What Goes Up Must Come Down

The Iranians are, according to an unnamed European intelligence agency cited this report, hell-bent on piecing together a nuclear missile:


According to the Guardian, the document details Tehran's attempts to build a missile capable of reaching Israel and southern Europe.

Iranian scientists are building wind tunnels, navigation technology and acquiring calibration devices needed for advanced missiles, the document says.

It concludes that Syria and Pakistan have also been buying technology and chemicals needed to develop rocket programs and to enrich uranium, according to the Guardian.

The report concludes that scientists in Tehran are shopping for parts for a new ballistic missile with "import requests and acquisitions ... registered almost daily," the Guardian said.

Well that's nice. And the Europeans (and those who think like Euros) were so sincere in their efforts to persuade the mullahs to go legit:


Pity the United Nations and the European Union. The militant theocrats running Iran have ignored their pleas, protests, promises of aid and finger-wagging threats of economic sanction. Tehran's mullahs want nuclear weapons. Money, media appeals and political yammering -- the arsenal of so-called "soft power" -- have so far failed to curtail Iran's nuclear ambitions.

Well so what, you might say. One more country with nukes? Who cares? (You might then go on to mutter something about Halliburton, but let's drop that for now). Austin Bay goes on:


Those who think the current Iranian leaders' pursuit of nuclear weaponry is a theatrical performance (primarily designed to solidify domestic political support or shake down Arab and European governments for loans and aid) should consider the rhetoric of Iran's hard-line president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Ahmadinejad is a Holocaust denier -- he calls Hitler's mass murder of European Jews a "myth." On a regular basis, Ahmadinejad and his cohorts enthusiastically tout the capabilities of Iranian ballistic missiles. Unfortunately, unchecked fanatics like Ahmadinejad have a tendency to move from words to war.


But still, we're only talking about Israel and southern Europe? Well I guess the official EU won't notice, then. It isn't like the Iranians can reach Brussels! Time yet for Europe to sleep, I guess.

We who have the power to act have but one option, as Bay concludes:


The real solution is regime change in Tehran. The EU and the United States have talked about supporting the mullahs' political opponents, but they have not walked that walk with sufficient financial aid, political support, media support and -- yes, it may be necessary -- weapons. Iran's tyrants believe they can finesse diplomatic discourse and ride out a military strike. They fear they cannot quell a popular, pro-democracy rebellion.

The UN won't help. The IAEA is a joke. The EU is spineless. And the Chinese and Russians aren't on our side. The Iranians will soon have nuclear-tipped ballistic missiles if nothing is done. Once again, America must step forward to stop the madmen who would destroy what we've built.

We couldn't possibly fool ourselves into believing we can live with this nutjob regime. Right?