The New Year marked a dramatic turn-around in the mood music towards Iran in Washington, and attention focused almost entirely upon Pa
On November 15th, Mohammed Elbaradei released his report to the IAEA board of Governors. The board is set to meet on Thursday November 22nd to consider the issue. The report finds that Iran provided “timely information” and much greater access to both documents and to personnel than previously, but did not fully answer all the IAEA's questions.
It is an unspoken rule in journalism that no matter how many times something has been covered, the subject is always deemed newsworthy when covered by a leading member of the mainstream media.
Thus, the article 'Those Nuclear Flashpoints Are Made in Pakistan' in yesterday's Washington Post by Douglas Frantz and Catherine Collins, lamenting the leniency
the United States has shown toward the most dangerous nuclear-trafficking operation in history – an operation masterminded by one man, Abdul Qadeer Khan.
There are some interesting references to Dr Khan in the book, The Nuclear Sphinx of Iran. Here is one:
It appears that the story of Dr Khan provides a nearly endless saga for those seeking to discern lessons to be learned from his experiences. In that regard the newest batter to step up to the plate is the US Government Accountability Office, which just today, released the report Nonproliferation: US Efforts to Combat Nuclear Networks Need Better Data on Proliferation Risks and Program Results (GAO-08-21, October 31) .
Sir John Thomson argues that the Western approach to Tehran, currently led by the Bush Administration, is unlikely to halt Iran's uranium enrichment program, and may even contribute to the worst case scenarios: a war with Iran and an Iranian nuclear weapon. He concludes by surveying three options for the nuclear program: “mothballing,” “pilot plant,” and “multilateral enrichment facility.”
This discussion paper is written from the imagined viewpoint of a senior military advisor to Iran's Supreme National Security Council, as he assesses Iran's options in responding to a U.S. military attack.