A Different View
Israeli defense minister Ehud Barak sharply disagrees with the U.S. National Intelligence Estimate on Iran's nuclear capabilities.
Sitting at the world Economic Forum in Davos last week, Israel's Minister of Defense Ehud Barak was sharply critical of the recent U.S. National Intelligence Estimate on Iran. In an interview with NEWSWEEK's Lally Weymouth, Barak suggested that, contrary to the impression left by that estimate, Iran continues to develop nuclear weapons and delivery systems. Excerpts:
Weymouth: You were critical of the latest U.S. National Intelligence Estimate on Iran.
Barak: We have a somewhat different interpretation of the same facts. Our interpretation is that clearly the Iranians are aiming at nuclear capability. It's probably true that for some reason they may have slowed down the weapons group in 2003 because it was the height of American militarism.
The CIA thinks they shut down the covert program then.
We think that they are quite advanced, much beyond the level of the Manhattan Project. We suspect they are probably already working on warheads for ground-to-ground missiles which are much more sophisticated than those carried by the Enola Gay [the airplane that dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima]. They are clearly developing missiles, and there is no reason to develop missiles that can fly 1,500 miles if you just want to … it's usually for unconventional warheads.
Do you have intelligence to prove that?
We don't know if they have enough enriched uranium. Probably they cannot build it, but they are working on the technology for warheads. The only challenge is to have enough weapons-grade enriched uranium or plutonium, which they probably don't have, but they are working on this as well. We suspect that probably they have another clandestine enrichment operation beyond the one in Natanz.
What kind?
We don't know enough, but there is no other way to interpret what we see. The dots that we see on the screen cannot be easily connected in a way that does not lead to a nuclear program. We think it is still a major challenge for the world. The leading intelligence communities should concentrate on finding whether there is or is not a clandestine enrichment operation and a weap- ons group working on the weapons technology. There is a lot to do on sanctions. I talked yesterday with President Sarkozy and got the impression that the French are working seriously to convince both China and Russia to keep moving forward on sanctions.
Sarkozy is interested in pushing sanctions on Iran?
The French are very clear about the risk from a nuclear Iran. There is a lot to do without removing any option from the table.
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Member Comments
Posted By: Jion @ 02/15/2008 11:35:19 AM
Comment: A nuclear Iran may bring stability and peace to the world. Israel has rejected every peace initiative and even killed Isaac Robin in order to carry on the apartheid of the Palestinians. With American taxpayers money Israel is building settlements on illegal land and with the lives of American Marines Israel is fighting wars on several grounds. Israel has no rival and wants no peace. A powerful Iran would encourage Israel to settle for peace and America will no longer need to carry on wars for Israel. The people of Iran will kick Islam out of Iran once there is no threat from outside.
Posted By: brotherlylove @ 02/02/2008 8:31:15 AM
Comment: Everywhere wherever there are muslims there is death, Iraq, Pakistan, India. One Pakistani was interviwed on the BBC and said " we muslims welcome death, there is nothing the west can to us because they cherish life"How can one live in the same world as these animals They even kill people of the same religion worshoping in mosques, kill their fellow Indians on trains, murder B Bhuto, fly aeroplanes full of innocent people into buildings, throw a paraplegic into the sea.
What is needed is one thing -love. And thou halt love thy neighbour as thyself, this applies to all mankind , orthwerwise mankind is doomed.
What is the root of all these problems religion, killing amd maiming people in the name of god, how can this be the act of religious people,?Can you imagine my hero Ghandi or mother Terssa or Nelson Mandella doing something like this?
Whenever there is a tragedy in the muslim world, who helps the poor people, the muslims, no America, Britain Isrel. the Arabs have entold wealth, what do most of them do with it, waste it on 600 wives, cadillacs, fighter jets, missiles, what about the ordinary poor people cold in the mountains in Pakistan without proper housing?
We are not all idiots, we have eyes and ears, why do put up with all the nonsense we are fed by the media and religious leaders?
West can
Posted By: Sigurdur @ 01/31/2008 3:41:24 AM
Comment: Well we are talking about a state here, the state of Israel, not a band of Muslim brothers. States have to adhere to international law if they don??t want to be labeled rouge nations, like Israel is now labeled by Iceland. As our democratically elected president, Mr. Grimsson, said: when Israel refused to accept the democratically elected representatives of the Palestinian people it decided to chart its own course. Israel would no longer adhere to democratic principles. It would no longer even try to look westernized, it would just look like the theocracy it is, giving inferior status to the natives, i.e. the Palestinians. Going so far as rounding them up in ghettoes and behind (Berlin) walls or in South African sort of enclaves (bhantus) all deemed reprehensible by the international community. President Grimsson says that in order to be a crime against humanity it is not necessary to kill women and children in gas chambers it is just the same crime against humanity to surround these women and children with American Abrams tanks and shoot them to pieces. Our President Grimsson is a former professor of political science in Iceland.
Professor Grimsson pointed out that in Iceland, Marxist parties, bent on overthrowing our capitalistic system, were allowed to participate in our elections. Democratic people are not allowed the luxury the Israelis demand for themselves, accepting only the democratic results that go their way. The Israelis are simply not mature enough for democracy. They should take lessons from our President Grimsson.