Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Iran's nuclear shopping list









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Dear Solstice,

The column below appeared in the Wall Street Journal last week. Of particular
interest is this sentence: “Missile accuracy appears to be a key Iranian
goal.” Think back to our series of emails on the threat of an
electromagnetic pulse (EMP) attack, and how experts believe as few as one
or two optimally deployed nuclear weapons could knock out 70% of our
electrical grid.

Consider how exposed our major population centers
are to a precisely targeted nuclear missile attack, so long as we lack a
robust missile defense.

It is also highly disconcerting to read
that experts in the CIA were “shocked by the sophistication of the
equipment they’re [Iran] buying.”

As Manhattan District Attorney
Robert Morgenthau states: “It’s late in the game.”









Iran's Nuclear
Shopping List


Morgenthau: 'It's late in
the game.'


Back when the Bush Administration was
warning about Iran's nuclear progress, or its deadly meddling in Iraq, the
typical Democratic and media response was to treat the Islamic Republic as
innocent until proven guilty. This month, Democrat Robert Morgenthau
supplied the proof.

In
testimony to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that was largely
ignored by the media, the legendary Manhattan District Attorney opened a
window on how Iran is secretly obtaining the ingredients for an arsenal of
mass destruction.
Mr. Morgenthau, whose recent cases have exposed
illicit Iranian finance and procurement networks, has discovered what he
calls "Iran's shopping list for materials related to weapons of mass
destruction." They add up to "literally thousands of records."


Missile accuracy appears to be a key Iranian goal. In one of Mr.
Morgenthau's cases -- the prosecution of Chinese citizen Li Fang Wei and
his LIMMT company for allegedly scamming Manhattan banks to slip past
sanctions on Iran -- the DA uncovered a list that included 400
sophisticated gyroscopes and 600 accelerometers. These are critical for
developing accurate long-range missiles. He also found that Iran was
acquiring a rare metal called tantalum, "used in those roadside bombs that
are being used against our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan." So much for
the media notion that Iran has played no part in killing American GIs.


Mr. Morgenthau also noted that the material shipped by LIMMT
"included 15,000 kilograms of a specialized aluminum alloy used almost
exclusively in long-range missile production; 1,700 kilograms of graphite
cylinders used for banned electrical discharge machines which are used in
converting uranium; more than 30,000 kilograms of tungsten-copper plates;
200 pieces of tungsten-copper alloy hollow cylinders, all used for
missiles; 19,000 kilograms of tungsten metal powder, and 24,500 kilograms
of maraging steel rods . . .
especially hardened steel suitable for
long-range missiles."


Lest anyone think that these
materials may have innocent uses, Mr. Morgenthau added that "we have
consulted with top experts in the field from MIT and from private industry
and from the CIA. . . . Frankly, some of the people we've consulted are
shocked by the sophistication of the equipment they're buying."


Mr. Morgenthau's
information is corroborated by a staff report for the Foreign Relations
Committee, chaired by Democrat John Kerry, which notes that Iran is making
nuclear progress on all fronts, and that it "could produce enough
weapons-grade material for a bomb within six months."
The committee
also notes that "Iran is operating a broad network of front
organizations," and that authorities suspect "some purchases for Iran's
nuclear and missile programs may have come through an elaborate ruse to
avoid U.S. financial sanctions on dealing with Iranian banks."

As
we've reported, Lloyds bank entered into a deferred prosecution agreement
in January with Mr. Morgenthau's office in which it admitted to a $300
million "stripping" scheme designed to hide the Iranian origin of banking
transfers from 2001 to 2004. Several other banks are also in the
crosshairs of Mr. Morgenthau and the Justice Department.

All this
should put to rest any doubts about the Iranian regime's purposes and
determination. As for what the U.S. should do about it, the committee
report insists that "direct engagement" must be a part of American
strategy, and so it seems fated to be under the Obama Administration. The
least it can do is heed Mr. Morgenthau's central point about everything
he's learned about Iran's nuclear progress: "It's late in the game, and we
don't have a lot of time."




-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


ACT for
America

P.O. Box 12765
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www.actforamerica.org


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that promote America’s national security and the defense of American
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