Iran Not Enriching?

Or a confirmation of what a lot of us around here have been telling you for the better part of a year: the Iran nuclear threat is overblown.

How can we honestly know for sure how accurate that information is though?

"Diplomats and analysts said possible reasons ranged from technical glitches to politically motivated restraint, to avoid closing the door to diplomacy with world powers and provoking harsher international sanctions or even Israeli military action".

.
Or, it simply means the Iranians do have enough weapons grade uranium to arm a nuclear missle, and no longer need to operate their centrifuges at peak levels. Imagine that.
.
Other reports I have read are that they are simply a month or two from being fully armed. That the Israeli's are prepared to strike no later than the end of December.
.
Merry Christmas, Joe Klein! Oh sorry, that should be "Happy Hanukka Joe Klein!

I finally got around to reading Suskind's "The Way of the World".
It was refreshing to read actual investigative, on the record, reportage and reading posts like this just make my eyes roll.

JK seems to be somewhat wired in and all we get is speculation rather than reporting.

Iran's main objective is to get a deal with the US to make sure US-forced regime change is no longer an option. Getting a nuclear weapon will mean a deal with the US is forever out of the question. Not a good outcome for Iran. Limiting enrichment capacity at present levels means Iran gets to keep its enrichment technology and get a deal with the US to get a security guarantee that the US will give up on regime change.

From the Iranian point of view, for the last 30 years, US Intelligence has been trying to find a way to get rid of the Iranian regime. Iran wants to see evidence that that policy will come to a complete end. Iranian remember 1953 like it was yesterday. And they are still certain that 1953 can repeated at any time, if they let their guard down. ....... But they also want a deal with the US ........ Which is now causing them much sleepless nights.

Sources from the linked piece (in order)-
"diplomats said"
"diplomats said."
"Diplomats and analysts said"
"said a senior diplomat in Vienna,"
"But diplomats say"
"Western diplomats said,"
"AEA Director-General Mohamed ElBaradei said in New York media interviews last week"
"But Western diplomats and nuclear experts say"
"Diplomats said"
"said a senior Vienna diplomat"
.
One name. From "interviews last week"

OT but worth passing along -
Lou Dobbs is leaving CNN. Tonight is his last show.
http://www.swamppolitics.com/news/politics/blog/2009/11/lou_dobbs_out_at_cnn_effective.html
.
No word on if he will be the next Ambassador to Mexico.

Keep up the good work, Klein. You're really becoming the go-to guy for pointless, meandering analysis of the Middle East.

Great smack down of that punk from TNR, Joe.
.
I'm raising a glass of whiskey to you right now.
.
God that kid is a punk.

OT, but Lou Dobbs quits CNN:
.
http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/11/11/lou.dobbs.leaving/index.html
.
Hope he didn't let the door hit his ass on the way out.

Fact of the matter is, Iran is perfectly entitled to enrich uranium -- and most of the world including the developing countries agree with Iran's position that the US is using the pretext of "nuclear weapons" to monopolize nuclear fuel technology for its own benefit. There is ZERO evidence of any weapons program in Iran. See IranAffairs.com for the FACTS.

I would love for Israel to grow some balls and attack Iran, so they can chop them right back off

This article and entire discussion reminds me of a 'black humor' joke from the years when the Iranians had taken over the US embassy and taken our people hostage.

We forget that even the current 'reformers' in Iran are pretty darned 'conservative.' This, as opposed to ordinary, everyday Iranians whom, like most folks universally and world-wide, are generally simply decent folks who just want to be able to love and care for their families and to live and have a good and decent life.

At any rate, there was talk in those - the embassy-seizure years - at the time, of so-called 'moderate Iranians.'

And the joke went that a 'moderate Iranian' indeed was one that was out of ammunition - I think that this applies in this case, as well.