Look, Iran was dangerous, Iran is dangerous, and Iran will be dangerous, if they have the knowledge necessary to make a nuclear weapon,” President George W. Bush said Tuesday in response to the National Intelligence Estimate report that disclosed Iran had forgone nuclear weapon development in 2003 and will not have the potential to produce enough plutonium for a weapon before 2015.
Prior to fall 2003, Iran was working to develop nuclear weapons under government instruction. However, because of international pressure, Iran halted this development. Still, despite the contrary evidence, the Bush administration has yet to soften its inflammatory rhetoric, its war-wanting tone toward Iran.
What is more, there is suspicion the president knew of the intelligence findings as early as August. Bush said the director of national intelligence, Mike McConnell, told him about new intelligence concerning Iran’s weapons program several months prior.
If the Bush administration knew of this new intelligence, then the nonbinding measure approved by the Senate in late September naming Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps as “a foreign terrorist organization” was passed under false pretences made by the administration. Even as recently as October, President Bush said Iran’s nuclear capability could precipitate World War III. Seemingly, though the President denies it, the American people have been misled. The recent NIE report suggests Iran might even no longer want to pursue nuclear weapons because of fear of further economic sanctions and political isolation.
Diplomacy, in terms of curtailing nuclear weapon development, has succeeded at this point in Iran – war will not be made easily. Yet, the Bush administration seems disappointed. Fearing the loss of allies in opposition to Iran, the Bush administration has been contacting U.N. members to persuade against relaxing sanctions on Iran.
Though sanctions should be maintained, the United States should not isolate Iran as they have been cooperating. Dialogue is also needed to preserve Iran’s compliance in forgoing nuclear weapons development.
