From Spook86
Now, with Mr. El-Baradei in retirement, the IAEA is (apparently) taking a harder look at Tehran's nuclear program. In first report on Iran, new IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano broke with his predecessor, suggesting Tehran may have looked into into the construction of a nuclear weapon, and that weaponization efforts may be underway.
According to the U.K. Guardian, Mr. Amano's report also confirmed that Iran has already produced small quantities of uranium enriched to 20% purity. That is a significant increase from the low-quality (2-3%) enriched uranium previous produced by the Iranians. Attaining the 20% level is considered an intermediate step in reaching the 90% purity required for a nuclear weapon. Nuclear experts say that Iran could reach the 90% threshhold in as little as six months, now that the intermediate level has been attained.
The appointment of Mr. Amano--and his clear-eyed reporting on Iran--represent a welcome change for the IAEA. If anything, those wishing to coddle or appease Tehran may have to look elsewhere for cover. The days of Mr. El-Baradei white-washing the Iran file are (thankfully) over.
El-Baradei's tepid administration and simultaneous usurpation of all moral authority on one of the most important regulatory agencies on the planet has been a pain in the side of the Bush Administration for the entire period with which it has dealt with Iraq. Not since the days when we listened to the original Fisk has there been a point at which common sense has prevailed. Even when Fisk was wrong, at least he wasn't a quivering mound of equivocation determined to frustrate every foreign policy on the planet. El Baradei seemed to forget whom he was working for, and that was every intelligence service on the planet. Except he wasn't ready to accept that responsibility. He wanted to negotiate the peace. Sorry. The bureaucratic dictates of an agency are not sovereign powers.
Recent Comments