On the Road to Nukeville

The Associated Press reported today that "[n]ew traces of plutonium and enriched uranium - potential material for atomic warheads - have been found in a nuclear waste facility in Iran, a revelation that came Tuesday as the Iranian president boasted his country's nuclear fuel program will soon be completed." What Mahmoud Ahmadinejad made clear is that Iran is well on the road to creating not only enriched uranium for peaceful, civilian uses, but also on the road to producing nuclear weapons grade uranium as well.

While the United Nations twiddles its thumbs and throws out sanctions resolutions against the Islamic regime in Teheran, the Iranians are going their merry way on the road to nuclear armaments. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reports the violations, but it's up to the Security Council to institute sanctions that have any meaningful chance to force the Iranians to vacate their policy of nuclear military enhancements.

When the IAEA issued its first reports on Teheran's clandestine enrichment programs, it estimated the Iranians could achieve nuclear capability within ten years. That estimate is wildly inaccurate. If Iran continues at its present rate of nuclear research and expansion, the country should have military weaponry within three to four years. And, again, the West will find itself at the bidding of a third-rate country with first-rate armaments and global ambitions.

Our weak-kneed, passive approach to this crisis (and it is a serious crisis, now) will lead us to make mistakes that will require greater resources, manpower, and courage to correct than we have shown to date.