Persian Prometheus

With the admission by Western Intelligence agencies of their failure to identify the extent of Iraq's WMD program or lack thereof, the doubts being raised over Iranian Nuclear Weapons are a harbinger of things to come. I for one don't believe the public image of the CIA as being completely inept in their field of study. It is always a good thing for the enemy to think you are weak when in fact you are strong. We must remember when it comes to Central Intelligence that they can "neither confirm nor deny". With that being said let us put Iranian WMD's in perspective.

We know the Iranians have been developing a regional if not intercontinental delivery system in the form of a missle. They have had SCUD missles in the past which were fired at Iraq during and after the Iran-Iraq War from 1980 - 1988. Whether they were smart enough to incorporate more than just a high explosive warhead has yet to be seen. Their experience with SCUDS thanks to Russia has been invaluable. Notwithstanding Iran has friends in low places. North Korea and Iran have jointly planned and built a missle that North Korea calls Nedong and Iran calls Shehab. Together these two nations have built a delivery system CAPABLE of being used as a vehichle for a nuclear/chemical/biological weapon.

If Iraq was able to develop nuclear energy before the '80's, with the assistance of the international community from Russia to China to France, then how much more so is Iran able to profit from the fire of Prometheus in the 21st century? We know Israel and India have not only pursued and demonstrated their nuclear capablities but that Pakistan, Libya and Egypt are not far behind. So, should we be surprised that Iran whose geopgraphical proximity to these nations developing Nuclear Weapons are also on the verge if not already there in the field of Atomic Bomb development and manufacturing? Answer: No.

Now combine the capabilities of delivery and destruction with the fanaticism of militant Islam and we've got real problems. In the Post 9/11 era that we are currently in, this tenuous position is simply unacceptable. Its interesting to note that both Iran and North Korea have their fatalistic and fanatical systems of government aimed directly at the powerful West. Islam and Communism are eternal enemies and yet we see these two dictatoral ideaologies of Eurasia hugging each other in one last embrace of compromise before the curtain is drawn on their tragic play.