Can Iran’s nuclear program be stopped?

On March 28, 2011, President Barack Obama addressed the National Defense University student body. He explained America’s rationale for approving a military campaign to halt Libyan leader Col. Muammar Gaddafi’s violent crackdown on demonstrators. Mr. Obama said, "Some nations may be able to turn a blind eye to atrocities in other countries. The United States of America is different. And as president, I refused to wait for the images of slaughter and mass graves before taking action."

The war in Libya rages on after nearly three months with no end in sight. One question, however, remains unanswered: Why the above policy of not turning a blind eye to atrocities doesn’t apply to other countries in the Middle East, i.e. Syria, Lebanon, and Gaza for example.

By last Thursday, the death toll in Syria is believed to have reached over 1,500, but the international community led by the United States could not even reach an agreement on the language of a resolution to reprimand Syria’s President Bashar Al-Assad some countries wanted to push through the Security Council.

The difference between Syria and Libya is simply—Israel. While the tiny nation does not border Libya, it does Syria, and there is definitely bad blood between the two countries. And, there is definitely a very cogent fear in the Israeli Defense Forces that in the event of foreign military intervention against Assad, Israel would bear the brunt of his retaliation.

Assad, eager to turn the eyes of the world away from his heinous crackdown in Syrian towns and villages, has apparently spurred Palestinian refugees to try to breach Israel’s security. Just days ago a group from the Yarmouk facility tried to cross the border into Israel. And this is just the first foray—only a tip of the iceberg of what Syria could instigate.

Assad has at his fingertips a stockpile of ballistic missiles. Over the years Syria has produced those missiles as well as an arsenal of chemical weapons designed to exact the harshest penalties possible against Israel. These were developed following Israel’s destruction of Syria’s nuclear reactor in 2007.

The major concern by Israel’s leaders is what will happen when Assad is removed, and who will take charge of the missiles and weapons in his cache. In actuality, Israel would rejoice at his removal from power, but the results of such a move must be assessed from every conceivable angle.

Another plus of Assad’s fall would possibly be a breach in Syria’s alignment with Iran. The country is a bridge between the two powers and enables Ahmadinejad to flood supplies to Hezbollah in Lebanon. Iran would be cut off from at least one of its proxies in its war to “wipe Israel from the map.” The symbiotic relationship between Iran and Hezbollah is of great concern to both entities as Syria falls further into chaos.

According to some intelligence gathering agencies, Hezbollah is so concerned it is working to move advanced war materiel stored in Syria to Lebanon. These weapons are said to include long range SCUD missiles that were destined for use along Lebanon’s southern border with Israel.

Israel is also in the crosshairs of Hamas in Gaza where efforts to join with Fatah are feeling the strain of two entities that each want controlling interest. Nothing is being done in the region to stop educating the children as if war was the only way. And the funds for that education come directly from the budget of the United Nations Relief and Works Committee (UNRWA.)

There is little reason and no incentive for the Gazans to work. They live predominately in a welfare state funded in large part by the United States. When the Israelis abandoned the region, an infrastructure was left behind in the form of greenhouses designed to produce fruit and vegetables that would have helped not only the economy, but would feed the poor and hungry. All was destroyed because of Jew-hatred.

Today Gazan women birth, on average, six children per family. While Iran may be responsible for fueling and feeding the machinery for war against Israel, the West is guilty of helping to fund yet another generation of children with a mindset only for terrorism and martyrdom. Perhaps it is time to force the leaders in Gaza to spend some of the funds in its war coffers to feed and clothe its own people.

The union of Fatah and Hamas contained no verbiage requiring the terrorist organization to recognize Israel’s right to exist and stop attacks against the Jewish state. In response to the merger, a group of Democratic and Republican congressional members led by Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, the powerful Republican chairwoman of the House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee and a staunch defender of Israel, were adamant that U.S. law should force an end to funds for the Palestinian Authority.

According to Ros-Lehtinen, “U.S. taxpayer funds should not and must not be used to support those who threaten U.S. security, our interests and our vital ally, Israel.” And yet the UN continues to pour funds into Gaza just as Ahmadinejad continues to find ways to sneak rockets and ammunition into the hands of yet another of Israel’s enemies. With Syria on one border, Lebanon on another, Gaza sitting like a cancer in the south, and Syria on the northeastern border and Lebanon in the north, proxies of Iran all, Israel must continue its search for ways to stop Ahmadinejad and the mad Mullahs who run Iran.

In response to the turmoil in Syria, Ahmadinejad revealed that the production of uranium will be tripled. The announcement also stated that the clandestine facility built near Qom would be put online and outfitted with equipment to produce a higher grade of uranium. This came only days after Yukiya Amano, director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, stated the obvious—that Iran’s nuclear program pointed to the involvement of its military. This conjecture has been rampant among those concerned about Iran’s nuclear pursuits.

The director’s pronouncement came soon after the IAEA released its latest findings. The notice pointed to an increase of up to four tons of low-enriched uranium (LEU). This reflects the collection of enough uranium that, if enriched, could produce two nuclear weapons. Though plagued with technical problems, and especially the virus that caused havoc at the Natanz plant, it is believed that Iran is once again on track.

It is little wonder that Iran is taking full advantage of the upheaval in the Middle East. While the rest of the world is focused on events in Libya, Syria, Gaza, and other countries, Iran’s leaders are ramping up its illegal nuclear programs and its determination to continue to enrich uranium. The choice to send submarines into the Red Sea is a signal that Iran’s leaders are secure in their belief that no measures will be taken to contain the rogue nation.

Iran’s confidence stems from the fact that current sanctions have been only minimally effective due to burgeoning oil prices. It is also bolstered by the severe crackdown on and near disappearance of any protests in the country.

Prognostications in intelligence circles are that in approximately one year, Iran will have produced enough low-enriched uranium to manufacture a nuclear device capable of being tested. Of course, comments like those attributed to the former head of Mossad, Meir Dagan, also lifted Iran’s assurance that there could be little or no response to its nuclear pursuits. Dagan called any plan to attack Iran’s reactors a "stupid idea" and an "impossible" contest.

The Iranians, as you might expect, were overjoyed with Dagan’s assessment. Perhaps it is a true estimation of Israel’s preparedness, or perhaps it is a Trojan Horse designed to give Ahmadinejad and his cohorts a sense of well-being. At the very worst, it could erode Israel’s confident stance in the face of the threat posed by Iran.

Moshe Ya’alon, Israel’s Deputy Prime Minister, who also holds the portfolio of Strategic Affairs Minister, had long averred that Israel must develop a "credible military option" in order to confront Iran’s nuclear program. Ya’alon believes that Israel must have a genuine, practicable, and efficient option. According to Ya’alon, “They need to fear that the military option is real and can be used,” Ya’alon has said in the past.

Recent revelations indicate that Iran is no longer afraid of retaliation from any source – U.S. or Israeli. Ahmadinejad and his backers continue to threaten world peace without fear of retribution. Certainly there has been no indication that President Barack Obama and his administration are willing to do anything to halt Iran’s march toward securing nuclear weapons. Once that has been accomplished, no part of our planet is safe from Ahmadinejad’s murderous sights.

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Dr. Michael D. Evans is a #1 New York Times bestselling author, having penned numerous titles including nonfiction book Jimmy Carter: the Liberal Left and World Chaos, in which he compares the Obama and Carter presidencies; and Atomic Iran; and the fiction book, GameChanger; and his newest titles Cursed, The Light, and The Protocols. Evans’ books are available at www.TimeWorthybooks.com. You can read his full biography on Wikipedia.