THE GRAVE IRANIAN THREAT - AT 9:10 A.M. ET:  Ironically, it's Britain's flagship leftist paper, the Guardian, that has a remarkable report that brings home once again the danger that Iran poses to the world.  Maybe, if the president can take time out from his political appearances, he might consider dealing with this seriously: 

The UN's nuclear watchdog has asked Iran to explain evidence suggesting that Iranian scientists have experimented with an advanced nuclear warhead design, the Guardian has learned.

The very existence of the technology, known as a "two-point implosion" device, is officially secret in both the US and Britain, but according to previously unpublished documentation in a dossier compiled by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Iranian scientists may have tested high-explosive components of the design. The development was today described by nuclear experts as "breathtaking" and has added urgency to the effort to find a diplomatic solution to the Iranian nuclear crisis.

The sophisticated technology, once mastered, allows for the production of smaller and simpler warheads than older models. It reduces the diameter of a warhead and makes it easier to put a nuclear warhead on a missile.

Documentation referring to experiments testing a two-point detonation design are part of the evidence of nuclear weaponisation gathered by the IAEA and presented to Iran for its response.

COMMENT:  The problem here is that we cannot trust the UN to do anything serious about Iran, or even to conduct an honest investigation. 

The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Mohamed El Baradei, actually said yesterday, with a straight face, that UN inspectors found nothing suspicious at a previously unknown nuclear facility in Iran.

So let's get this straight:  1) Iran had kept the facility secret.  2) Once it was detected by surveillance, it invited UN inspectors to inspect, as if it had not tried to hide anything.  3)  However, the "inspection" took place weeks after the facility was revealed, giving the Iranians plenty of time to hide what had to be hidden.  4) The facility is located near the holy city of Qum, making a military attack highly problematical from a don't-inflame-the-Muslims perspective.

Are you sleeping better these days, knowing El Baradei is on the case?

November 6, 2009