James Carafano on Iran’s Nuclear Ambitions
The Heritage Foundation’s James Carafano writes about Iran’s nuclear program in his latest Washington Examiner column. While Iran plans, Washington sleeps.
“Revelations in the last few weeks have been particularly troubling. The Times of London reported it had obtained an Iranian memo describing a four-year research program to produce a nuclear trigger for an atomic bomb. It is not yet clear the document is authentic. If it is, Washington has a big problem.
“It is also not clear when the memo was written. Some news reports peg the technical report at some time around 2007. That same year a National Intelligence Assessment, representing the collective wisdom of all the U.S. government intelligence agencies, declared Iran had stopped work on its nuclear weapons program in 2003.
“If the 2007 date holds up, it would indicate another huge problem: The CIA failed to detect almost five years of Iranian weapons research.”
What accounts for the CIA’s neglect?
Carafano reminds readers that Iran recently test-fired the long-range Sajjil-2 missile, capable of reaching Israel and parts of Southern Europe. While Iran is testing weapons and openly defying the U.N, President Barack Obama is cutting missile defense and trying to charm rogue states into compliance.
“At this rate,” writes Carafano, “America might celebrate its next Christmas under the shadow of a nuclear Iran.”
Tags: Barack Obama, Iran, James Carafano, Sajjil-2