Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the
terror of Tehran,
announced earlier this week that his country has 3,000 fully-functioning uranium-enriching centrifuges. According
to the London
Times, Iran
also has let it be known that this is only beginning. It is apparently building up to 54,000 centrifuges. Three thousand would put the Iranians in a warhead-making capacity, and 54,000 ... well, you get the point.
Now, none of the Democratic candidates are especially distraught by this. They are competing with each other over how eagerly they will negotiate with the regime of the mullahs to stop this. Of course, the International Atomic Energy Authority has been negotiating with Iran for months and months--to no avail. It also quibbles: Iran, it says,
has only 2,000 centrifuges ready, with another 650 being tested. Phew!
Rescued!
However, Ahmadinejad, speaking at one of those regular rallies the Iranians stage to keep up morale, told the crowd, "The world must know that this nation will not give up one iota of its nuclear rights ... If they think they can get concessions from this nation, they are badly mistaken." It's ordinarily prudent to pay attention to what tyrants say.
And Israel's
defense minister, Ehud Barak, seems to believe A'jad: "Talks never did, and never will, stop rockets."
An American defense official told the Times
that, "Israel
could do something when they get around to 3,000 working centrifuges."
Well, if Israel does do
"something," the U.S.
will have been let off the hook. Just like at Osirak in June 1981. And the U.N., well, who
cares?
P.S.: In the meantime, according to the Times,
"Intelligence agencies have begun to vet all foreign postgraduates applying to study sensitive scientific subjects in Britain ... Sixty Iranians have been refused university places this year." Is a similar practice carried out in
the U.S.?