The Cellar - Bush deals nukes to the Saudis

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May 30, 2008
Reality Check on the Mullahs
By Amil Imani
There is so much smoke around the Iranian Mullahs' bomb that it makes Tehran's smog feel like a fresh ocean breeze by comparison. Here is a partial list of misconceptions about the Mullahs, their capabilities and intentions about the bomb affair.

The Mullahs:

* Will never dare to use the bomb, even if they had it. To do so would be suicidal.
* Are years away from anything resembling a credible bomb, in any quantity.
* They lack the technological skills needed to make a workable bomb.
* Don't have the means of hitting Israel with the bomb, their professed favorite target.
* Want the bomb for defensive purposes only.
* Would never hand the bomb over to proxy terrorists.
* Are using this whole bomb thing as a ploy to rally the populace and survive.
* Are visionary patriots planning for a future when the oil dries up.
* Are environmentalists aiming to curb global warming caused by the use of fossil fuel.
* Are striving to join the nuclear club for its prestige.

And on, and on, and on, goes the litany. I believe, based on facts rather than wishful thinking, that every one of the above assertions, as well as all other similar dismissive arguments, are both false and fraught with danger because all the above arguments are confounded by various amounts of denial.

Psychological denial is a common quirk of the human mind. People use denial to distort, even refute reality, when accepting it is too threatening to them. Alcoholics are habitual users of denial, a major tranquilizer of the mind. The alcoholic will adamantly deny having any problem with alcohol and continue to drink, even in the face of irrefutable contrary evidence. Denial is resorted to by both individuals and groups, and can be just as deadly for both.

continues:
http://www.americanthinker.com/2008/...e_mullahs.html

WSJ Editorial: Why is Bush helping Saudi Arabia Build Nukes? Edward Markey (D-Mass)

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121305642257659301.html

Quote:

The Bush administration argues that Saudi Arabia can not be compared to Iran, because Riyadh said it won't develop uranium enrichment or spent-fuel reprocessing, the two most dangerous nuclear technologies. At a recent hearing before my Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming, Secretary of Energy Samuel Bodman shrugged off concerns about potential Saudi misuse of nuclear assistance for a weapons program, saying simply: "I presume that the president has a good deal of confidence in the King and in the leadership of Saudi Arabia."

That's not good enough. We would do well to remember that it was the U.S. who provided the original nuclear assistance to Iran under the Atoms for Peace program, before Iran's monarch was overthrown in the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Such an uprising in Saudi Arabia today could be at least as damaging to U.S. security.

Hmm. One should keep in mind the number of Iranian nuclear reactors constructed under the auspices of Atoms for Peace.

Well, hey, I've heard of Atoms for Peace... long ago, and briefly, and I've heard it dissed too...

So what was it all about, Alpher, Bethe, Gamov...?