We truly hate to say it, but Iran's protestations that it is seeking nuclear power purely for peaceful purposes are starting to ring a little hollow. The same day Iranian and Russian engineers began loading uranium fuel into the Bushehr nuclear power plant, Iran's military announces the development of a prototype long-range unmanned bomber, dubbed the Karrar. Reuters [2] Aug. 22 reports that in a speech at the unveiling ceremony, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad "said Iran should seek the ability to make pre-emptive strikes against a perceived threat, although he said it would never strike first." This is of course exactly the kind of Orwellian doublethink [3] that characterized the Bush administration.
Haartez [4] reports that Ahmadinejad also spoke on the Bushehr initiation, claiming "America is not interested in sparking a military confrontation," but vowing "decisive response" if Washington does go ahead with its threats military action.
The Iranian regime is pretty clearly divided on whether to seek nuclear weapons. We have noted that the ayatollahs have in recent years issued fatwas both condemning [5] and condoning [6] nuclear weapons. Ahmadinejad himself seems to be cultivating some strategic ambiguity to keep the world guessing.
See our last posts on Iran [7] and nuclear fear [8].
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