Comedy from a man named Mohammed

It seems that the UN has as tight a hold over its classified information as does our own National Archives. Isn't that right, Mr. Berger? A recently leaked "secret" (shhh) report contained the following tidbits about Iran's recent push for nuclear energy and its ironically timed testing of medium range ballistic missiles:

The Agency assesses that the development work to design a suitable chamber inside the re-entry vehicle is intended to accommodate a new warhead payload that is quite likely to be nuclear.

That would be troublesome except for the fact that we have been assured over and over again that despite one of the largest global oil reserves sitting beneath its sun-baked crust, Iran pursues nuclear technology to bolster its meager energy supply. Breath easy, right? Mahmoud has been as true-blue as a Boy Scout, right?

The Agency is concerned that Iran may have nuclear weapon design information which could be used in a specific nuclear package which would fit within the mass and volume constraints as seen in (that re-entry vehicle).

I do like the qualitative "may" used in the previous excerpt but there's more to indicate that Iran's possession of nuclear weapons is imminent. The report does end on this oddly happy note:

Overall the Agency does not believe that Iran has yet achieved the means of integrating a nuclear payload into the Shahab 3 missile with any confidence that it would work (whew!). Nonetheless (rats, knew that was coming), with further effort it is likely that Iran will overcome problems and confidence will be built up.

Doesn't it make you feel better that Iran's confidence will be built up, like old Mahmoud's been taking it on the international chin and needs a hug?

You think that was wry, try this on.

The president of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), a group with as much moral fiber as the UN but tasked with the ho-hum job of tracking the nuclear exploits of nations round the world, announced today which country he believes to be the greatest nuclear threat to the Middle East. The envelop, please...

"Israel is the number one threat to the Middle East given the nuclear arms it possesses."

No, you're not seeing things. I typed that correctly. That's what he said. To my knowledge Israel has never threatened to annihilate another nation or threatened that said nation would soon be no more, but Mssr. Ahmadinejad threatens more than that by the time he finishes his Cous-Cous Puffs.

You might think IAEA president Mohammed ElBaradei was doing a little hashish to aver such anti-Israel propoganda (the complete article here). He does his moderate Egyptian roots no favor by not indiciting the Looney Toon, Ahmadinejad, but rather focusing his eyes upon Israel. Worse than that he makes an even greater mockery of his own IAEA, the organization that Han Blix headed when it couldn't figure out Iraq's nuclear temperature. With Iran giving the wrenches the final turn, the IAEA has its back to them, the greatest threat to actually use nuclear weapons, and is focusing on the nation with the bullseye on its chest, Israel.

Israel, the muscle of the Middle East, has shown incredible discretion over the last three decades. It could have destroyed any of its neighbors at any time. Because the neighbors understood that, they have caused no issues, but in light of Iran's idiocy, Israel may be left with little recourse but to use tactical nukes to neuter Iran's nuclear threat.

Should that Rubicon be crossed, I don't believe we have the imagination to comprehend the consequences.