NOVANEWS
Iran and the Issue of Nuclear Weapons
by Dr. Lawrence Davidson
Part I – Is there an Iranian Nuclear Weapons Program?
On Friday 3 June 2011 the investigative reporterSeymour Hersh gave an interview to Amy Goodman for the radio program Democracy Now! The topic was Iran and whether or not it is developing nuclear weapons. Hersh answered this question definitively for Goodman as he did shortly thereafter in an comprehensive piece for the New Yorker magazine (6 June 2011 ) entitled “Iran and the Bomb: How Real is the Threat?
His answer: there is no Iranian nuclear weapons program. There is no threat.
Hersh set this issue against the background of the 2003 invasion of Iraq. In that case there was no credible evidence for weapons of mass destruction yet we had high government officials going around talking about the next world war and mushroom clouds over American cities. Both the U.S. Congress and the general population bought into this warmongering. Hersh is obviously worried about a replay of that scenario. Thus, in his interview, he said:
“you could argue its 2003 all over again….There’s just no serious evidence inside that Iran is actually doing anything to make nuclear weapons….So, the fact is…that we have a sanctions program that’s designed to prevent the Iranians from building weapons they’re not building.”
In 2003 those kind of sanctions, applied to Iraq, along with the accompanying misinformation campaign, led to a tragic and unnecessary war. Are we now doing it all over again? As Amy Goodman pointed out, “the Obama White House…has repeatedly cited Iran’s nuclear program as a threat to the world. President Obama raised the issue…during his speech before AIPAC (22 May 2011)….” Obama told his audience, “So let me be absolutely clear: we remain committed to preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons.” Obama went on to characterize Iran’s civilian nuclear energy program, which is its only program and perfectly legal, as “its illicit nuclear program.”
Finally, Hersh pointed out that there have already been two National Intelligence Estimates (NIEs) on the question of Iran and nuclear weapons. These express the collective opinion of 16 U.S. intelligence agencies. Their unanimous conclusion has been that “there is no evidence of any weaponization.”
If this is the case, what in the world was President Barack Obama talking about when addressing AIPAC? What in the world was Admiral Mike Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, talking about when (18 December 2010), during a visit to Gulf Sheikdom of Bahrain, he announced that “from my perspective I see Iran continuing on this path to develop nuclear weapons….”? And what are the members of Congress talking about when they address this question? The vast majority of them take the same line as the president and Admiral Mullen. In addition, this assumption about Iran’s nuclear ambitions has crept into the mainstream press. Amy Goodman asked Hersh about a New York Times report (24 May 2011) stating “the world’s global nuclear inspection agency [IAEA]…revealed for the first time…that it possesses evidence that Tehran has conducted work on a highly sophisticated nuclear triggering technology that experts said could be used for only one purpose: setting off a nuclear weapon.” Hersh quickly pointed out the that the word “evidence” never appeared in the IAEA report and, it turns out, the type of nuclear trigger the New York Times was referring to is so fraught with technical problems that, according to Hersh, “there is no evidence that anybody in their right mind would want to use that kind of a trigger.” So, what in the world is the New York Times telling us?
Part II – What is Real?
Questions One and Two: The questions about Iran’s nuclear development are not open ended. They have real answers. First, is Iran developing nuclear energy? The answer to this is a definitive yes. No one, Iranian or otherwise, denies this. Their aim here is energy production and medical applications. This is all legal. Second, is it developing nuclear weapons? According to every reliable expert within the intelligence agencies of both the United States and Europe, the answer is a no. These answers describe reality in relation to Iran and its nuclear activities.
Question Three: The really important question is why do American politicians and military leaders refuse to accept reality as regards this issue? That too must have an answer. And intelligent people who investigate these matters should be able to figure it out. I consider myself in this crowd, and so I am going to venture forth with my answer.
Answer to question three: Its Politics. However, it is not just U.S. politics. Others have helped write the script. These others can be identified by asking to whom are American officials pledging to pursue the Iranian nuclear weapons fantasy? The president pledged to AIPAC, the Israeli lobby, that the United States will “prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons.” And Admiral Mullen assured the Gulf Arabs that he, as the head of the U.S. military, takes seriously the notion that “Iran [is] continuing on this path to develop nuclear weapons.”