Iran Enriches Uranium

Iran Enriches Uranium

Iran and Israel are the issue.

Iran has enriched uranium, Iranian President Mahmoud
Ahmadinejad announced on Tuesday.

“I'm announcing officially that Iran has now joined
the countries that have nuclear technology,” Ahmadinejad said in a carefully
staged speech carried live across Iran. “This is a very historic moment,
and this is because of the Iranian people and their belief. And this is the
start of the progress of this country.”

Standing before a sweeping backdrop featuring doves
around an Iranian flag, Ahmadinejad said the country was moving toward enrichment
on an industrial scale for power plants, not the weapons that the Bush administration
and other governments say are Tehran's real goal.

“We are saying again that the nuclear technology
is only for the purpose of peace and nothing else,” Ahmadinejad said.

White House spokesman Scott McClellan, traveling with
President Bush to Missouri today, told reporters that the news suggests Iran
is “moving in the wrong direction.” If it continues down that path,
he said, the United States will consult with other allies about how to respond.

(snip)

Enriching uranium is the pivotal step for either. Enriched
to a low level of about 3.5 percent, uranium will fuel a power plant. If enrichment
continues to much higher levels it can provide the explosive power for atomic
weapons. … …

Iranian
President Confirms Uranium Enrichment

You need uranium enriched to 90%
to get a bomb. Iran's at 3.5%. Get it? We've got a few years, so any talk about
bombing is ludicrous, but that doesn't keep the neocons from pumping up the
volume. But the facts of what's on the ground in Iran mean that it will be at
least 5 years before they're nuclear armed.

Without provocation, is the U.S. really going to go on a war footing?
No, and Israel doesn't want to go this route either.