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Analysis: Iran's Nuclear Program Has Been an Astronomical Waste
Lasrick writes: Business Insider's Armin Rosen uses a fuel-cost calculator from the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists to show that Iran's nuclear program has been "astronomically costly" for the country. Rosen uses calculations from this tool to hypothesize that what Iran "interprets as the country's 'rights' under the 1970 Non-Proliferation Treaty is a diplomatic victory that justifies the outrageous expense of the nuclear program." Great data crunching.
Their nuclear program is of little value and would easily be traded away if it was just for energy or healthcare; they sit atop an ocean of oil and could easily buy medical isotopes if their economy was relieved of sanctions (i.e. if this was an econ101 exercise, they'd have happily traded it away long ago as all the other non-nuclear signatories to the NPT have done).
A nuclear weapons program, in the hands of the leading sponsor of most of the world's terrorism of the past 40 years, on the other hand has nearly infinite value:
It would let Iran continue sponsoring terrorism, even more flagrantly and against more targets, secure in the knowledge that most nations would be too scared to fight back.
It would help Iran get sanctions removed by threatening to nuke anybody who tries to keep the sanctions in place.
This is THE nightmare scenario: Crazy evil mullahs who actually believe they need a world-wide bloodbath to bring-on the 12th Imam...... having their hands on EXACTLY the instruments they need to do it. The theory of nuclear deterrence only works when all opponents desperately want to stay alive, it breaks down when one opponent desires mass death. During the Cold War, neither the Jews and Christians of the West, nor the officially atheist Soviets, wanted to die. Not as individuals, nor en-mass. Note: Islam is VERY different from other religions in this regard. The Christian book of Revelations, for example, predicts a dark bloody future that is apparently inevitable but absolutely not to be desired or intentionally brought about (it's brought about by the devil). There are other religions with similar sorts of apocalyptic prophesies, but again as things to be avoided, not to be desired, not to be brought about by mankind.
Even if that were true, only a naive shit-face believes Iran will hold to their end of the deal. Remember, the Koran promotes lying to infidels to gain their trust before back-stabbing them.
Horse shit.
Iran was a pro-Western, pro-American country until we sent the CIA to overthrow their government in 1953 and installed the Shah. If you're going to quote an Israeli PJMedia/Fox News propagandist, you might want to find one with more credibility than Barry Rubin.
The "Horse shit" prefix wasn't needed, at least some of us could identify the content of your post without it.
The government of Iran had been overthrown by the Prime Minister who faked an election, dissolved parliament, and was ruling by decree while ignoring the Shah as constitutional monarch. (You know, the traditional head of government being responsible to head of state?) Not even Stalin faked elections as brazenly as the Iranian PM. The Shah fled for his own safety. The US and UK helped restore the Shah to power, not install him.
Iran was also an ally of Israel but that changed with the Islamic revolution and Iran's turning on the Jewish state as well as the US. The bad blood between Iran and Israel is Iran's doing.
much of left-wing thought is a kind of playing with fire by people who don't even know that fire is hot - George Orwell