To: LindyBill who wrote (90329 ) 12/12/2004 4:42:25 PM From: frankw1900 Read Replies (1) | Respond to Iran's force projection is through terrorism, not conventional military means. Take away or vastly diminish it's terrorism capability and it becomes only another important Middle Eastern country with the usual problems. Possesing nuclear weapons will not alleviate those.An anti-Western ideology remains at the core of the Islamic republic, even as the majority of Iranian citizens long to join the West. The Islamic Republic founded Palestinian Islamic Jihad, bankrolls Hezbollah and supplies other Palestinian factions with weapons. According to the Arabic daily Asharq al-Awsat, Iran shelters several hundred Al-Qaida members at Revolutionary Guard facilities near the Caspian town of Chalus and Lavizan, on the outskirts of Tehran. Iranian diplomats know that Washington would consider it a casus belli if Al-Qaida were to plan a terrorist attack from Iranian soil. But if Tehran felt a nuclear deterrent would prevent American or Israeli retaliation, it would have less incentive to rein in its proxy groups.
