The Yellowcake-for-Food Program

A perfect storm is brewing between the IAEA and a subcomittee of the US House of Representatives over the extent of Iran’s nuclear capabilities. The U. N. nuclear watchdog has written a letter saying part of the subcommittee’s case against Iran is “outrageous and dishonest,” according to CNN. The subcommittee had reported that Iran is already enriching weapons grade uranium.

Do I know the level of Iran’s nuclear activity? Of course not. But I can offer a couple of obvious observations.

In the wake of the Oil-for-Food scandal, anyone who takes the word of the United Nations or its subdivisions at face value is either a liar or a moron. Secondly, if the Iranians are not rather far along in their nuclear program, there’s something very wrong with them. The United States had these weapons over sixty years ago, the Soviet Union shortly thereafter. No one really knows (or no one reliable is saying publicly) how many countries have nuclear weapons at this time, but poor Third-World Pakistan, nuclear armed from at least 1998, had weapons grade uranium in 1985. It’s almost racist to assume their Iranian friends are not similarly capable (or nearly) more than twenty years later.

My further guess is that the excessive and distinctly non-diplomatic language used by the IAEA is an indication of some kind of guilt. From the same CNN article: “The subcommittee’s report also insinuates that the IAEA may be in cahoots with Tehran in covering up Iran’s nuclear ambitions.” Hmmm… sound familiar? How about a Yellowcake-for-Food Program… or U-238-for-Oil… you fill in the blanks.