An award-winning Iranian nuclear scientist has defected to the West, according to ABC:
Amiri, a nuclear physicist in his early 30s, went missing last June three days after arriving in Saudi Arabia on a pilgrimage, according to the Iranian government. He worked at Tehran’s Malek Ashtar University, which is closely connected to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, according to the Associated Press.
If he has positive insight into the Iranian regime’s nuclear weapons ambitions – the mullahs have steadfastly asserted that their nuclear program is for purely peaceful purposes – then we might finally see a more concerted response from Western capitals.
Oh, wait:
President Obama interrupted a diplomatic love fest with visiting French President Nicolas Sarkozy on Tuesday to declare Iran will face tougher international sanctions within weeks.
“My hope is that we are going to get this done this spring,” Obama said, rejecting concerns it could take months to get new United Nations sanctions approved.
“I’m not interested in waiting months for a sanctions regime to be in place; I’m interested in seeing that regime in place within weeks.”
The authors of a controversial National Intelligence Estimate published in January 2008 that poo-poohed an Iranian weaponization program could not be reached for comment.
ahh yes, little lord obama through his sheer will can enact sanctions on Iran, ignoring the clusterfuck that is the UNSC, and somehow buy off Russia and China without anyone knowing (and thus complaining), and enact actual sanctions on Iran that are not in line with what Mohammed el-Baradei would approve of. Tough talk from the Dictator Coddler in Chief. And here I thought serving during the Clinton years was bad for morale. This has about as much chance of occurring as Paris Hilton has of getting a PhD. in Astrophysics.
“I’m not interested in waiting months for a sanctions regime to be in place; I’m interested in seeing that regime in place within weeks.”
Right-o, Bogey.
Is this the stance he announced we’d be seeing “in two weeks” last November, or is it the one Hillary announced he’d have for us “within ten days” back in late December?
He *does* realize that the entire Middle East considers him a blowhard wuss, right?
Only the entire Middle East? You’re thinking too small.
No, just keeping to my sphere of expertise.
Although the Brits think Brown should have stuffed those DVDs up — ummmmmm — returned them to Obie with a polite note.
Can someone please cite me an instance in recent history when imposing sanctions achieved their stated aims? People who want to actually get something done don’t impose sanctions. Imposing sanctions is something done by people who want to look like they are doing something without taking the hard actions – and the hard decisions and risks and criticism – that are necessary to actually get results.
Recent history? You’re thinking too small.
The only way to hurt your actual *target* with a sanction is to roll it into a spindle and poke him in the eye with it.
I may have related this before….1979 SN/SS Broten exclaimed: “Nuke ‘em. Nuke ‘em ’till the camel turds glow. Then set up a free offroad park with free gas every twenty miles.” I liked it then, and now too. He was/is a visionary in the submarine world.
Ron –
Maybe this isn’t “recent” but in 1940 FDR put in place sanctions against Japan after they invaded Indochina. That worked swimmingly, no? As a result, Japan attacked the US fleet at Pearl Harbor dragging the US into the war, just the way FDR wanted.
Or so the nutters claim.
In a way, Daryle, the sanctions worked. Japan was facing a nearly complete shutdown on scrap iron and petroleum unless they backed off of their conquests.
What Washington didn’t anticipate was Imperial Japan attacking Pearl. Very nearly everyone back then (as opposed to the idiot monday-morning quarterback scandal hacks) expected Japan to move south towards Indonesia, not towards the Philippines and Hawaii. And, yes, QM, they’re “nutters,” even if they’re also “serious” historians. If there were any credible proof by now, it would have surfaced. Is Stinnett still pushing the “east wind/rain” crap? Or is he relying on the “maneuver them into firing the first shot” BS? And while I’m at it -considering the “Why did Hitler declare war on the US?” sub-thread, how can anyone claim that an attack on Pearl Harbor would convince Americans to join a war against Germany!? Did FDR consult his Magik 8-Ball and find out Hitler would conveniently declare war on the United States? Or is Stinnett able to explain how a treacherous attack by the Japanese, which would focus very nearly all of American resources against Japan, would defeat Germany? Note that quite a few US military leaders favored a “Japan first” policy at that point, most notably Admiral King.
As for Hitler’s decision, he was desperate to get the Japanese to declare war on the Soviet Union. This particular act underline’s Hitler’s neurotic tendencies, since (in a way) was relying on magic, in the same way an obsessed lover imagines that if “I love someone hard enough, then s/he’ll love me back.” He declared war on the United States in the (naive) expectation that Japan would declare war on the USSR. WRONG
And not all the German General Staff wanted to avoid fighting the US. Admiral Raeder, at least, wanted to attack America as soon as possible, since Hitler had temporarily declared US ships off-limits. The Admiral deeply resented the fact that he couldn’t respond to American anti-sub operations.
BTW, Hitler frequently said he didn’t want war with England, but he didn’t hesitate to try and grind them to dust. Funny way of being friends. His contradictory behavior is easily explained (again) by his neurotic personality. Hitler was a strong dominant/submissive personality type. He both hated and respected the British Empire. At the end his need for violent domination, and his desire for a personal Ggotterdammerung overrode his political genius.
Daryle has pointed out the fundamental debunk of all the Pearl conspiracies: FDR would have been equally well-served by an attack on a prepared naval base. An educated reading of then-current thought reveals that current wisdom expected the US to enter the second world war in the same was as the first, via attacks on neutral/US shipping by Germany. One could even argue that FDR deliberately provoked Germany with his “shoot on sight” orders. Did he deliberately do so to provoke a war with Germany? Maybe. Maybe not. Too bad the scandal-mongers decided it wasn’t sexy enough for a best-seller.
According to “Day Of Deceipt” which Stinnett wrote on the start of the war with Japan, FDR did know what he was doing, and he got the Navy radio traffic that shows it.
Supposedly, FDR got mad at Acheson and his little merry band after they imposed the sanction without asking him. I’ve only seen that in one place (and can’t rmember where) so I place that in the rumor file. The Stinnett stuff, however, is quite credible as he was actually on FDR’s side. So it isn’t “nutters” making the claim, but serious historians.
As for the Obamanation, he is after sanctions because Clinton, Bush and he have so weakened the military we don’t have the stuff to go after Iran and do what we already are trying to do.
I haven’t read the Stinnett book. I’ll have to read that. All I’ve read or heard about it has made it seem that while there were indicators that Japan had something planned but nothing certain. (Sort of like the clain that Bush knew about 9/11 because of the PDB of Aug. ’01 saying AQ wanted to strike in the US. Really not much to act on.) The nutters I was referring to think he knew the details and did nothing. Seems to me that if he did know the attack was coming he could have issued a warning to Pearl. An attack beaten off would still be justification for entry into the war,no? Also, he wanted to enter the war to against the Nazis, but that wasn’t assured by an attack from Japan. My understanding is that Hitler wasn’t obligated to enter the was on Japan’s behalf. It just doesn’t make any sense to me.
Hitler’s move after PH doesn’t make any sense to me either. The German General Staff were certainly disaapointed that Hitler brought the US in. It was an act of terminal stupidity.
Stinnett seems to feel that FDR had no choice but to get us into the war. The idea that Germany was going to march to world domination and all that. Frankly, that’s arrant nonsense. Hitler stated his war aims and he did not want war with the US or Britain. Stalin was a different kettle of fish, however.
That, plus Obie’s recent tantrum regarding Israeli urban renewal won’t leave him any wiggle room when F-16s sporting the Mogen David go nipping east at NOE altitude, loaded with Instant Underground Facility Excavators…
I can see clearly now, his reign is gone. It’s gonna be a bright, bright, sun-shiny day.
Here’s hoping someone knocks Barry on the head long enough to let State pull a Captain Renault and say “I’m shocked, shocked to find that Israel bombed Iran!” Close the casino!
All we need to do is send 2 Galaxy loads of MOPs to the Israelis and say “go find a sandbox and play with these. Give us a post-mortem”. The hurdacle (hurdle/obstacle – made that one up) is the unintended victims of the inevitable fallout. The real kind. They may want a non-nuclear Iran with a new regime as much as we do.
“… according to people briefed on the operation by intelligence officials.” Followed by several paragraphs of how the CIA has been recruiting nuclear scientists in Iran by their relatives and intermediaries.
Someone should swing for this, someone on Capitol Hill. Some Iranians certainly will.
“My hope is that….”
i’m happy for you Ear Leader: “hope” in one hand and sh1t in the other and tell me which one fills up first, you whinny little punk.
If we or the Israelis went after Iran’s facilities, would that make what we are doing in the Af easier or harder?
We’ve been trying to get the Air Force to be reasonable for years, Bill K.
Nuthin’ works.
Hey, I’m drunk and simple.
Since we don’t like either party, nor the folks in the big house, how ’bout we do Tehran, Washington, San Francisco, Kims house, Putins dacha, an’ all the rest o’ the assholes in the world with a coupla multis?
Like I said…a little drunk, a lot simple.