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Politics : Moderate Forum -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Augustus Gloop who wrote (15042)	1/3/2005 12:42:17 PM
From: zonder	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 20773

I don't know that the only sanctions must be oil 80% of Iran's exports are "mining products" (i.e. oil). The rest is agricultural products (4.3%) and manufactured goods (8.1%). How badly do you think sanctions will be effective as a bargaining chip if oil is not included in the sanctions? :-) stat.wto.org I think you'd agree that an Iran with Nukes isn't good for anyone What I would agree is that if Iran really wants to have a bomb made with a sixty year old technology, there is nothing anyone can do to prevent it for a long time. This is true for any country, more so for Iran because they can actually mine Uranium in their own soil. Nuclear weapons are a deterrent at this point in human history. No country is mad enough to actually vaporise, say, New York, knowing full well that US nukes would completely level their whole country in less than an hour later. So what exactly is the problem with Iran owning nuclear weapons if it feels threatened? (And can you blame them for feeling slightly worried after Bush shortlisted them in the "axis of evil" and invaded another country in that little list and killed more than 100,000 of its civilians?) Personally, I would be happier to see no country having nukes, nor chemical and biological weapons. But in a world where quite a few countries happily hold nuclear arsenals and nobody threatens them with no sanctions, I cannot see what the big deal is with Iran owning them. Is Iran less of a country? Are its people less worthy of defending themselves from, say, a superpower who might not be deterred by anything else than a nuclear country? In a world where US, Russia, India, Pakistan, Israel etc have nuclear weapons, I have no problem with Iran having a couple if it feels like it. This may surprise you but I do believe we need a NASA like effort to develop an alternative fuel source so we can lower our need (if not eliminate) for oil from the middle east. I agree wholeheartedly, and not only to eliminate dependence on ME oil. It does not look like oil will last forever and the sooner we find alternative sources of energy, the less likely we are to find ourselves back in the stone age one day. The best way to do battle with these countries is to starve them financially. Even if there were a de facto battle raging between US and Iran, "starving them financially" is impossible without sanctions on their oil. And even if the US is mad enough to actually consider that and killing their own economy in the meanwhile as oil hits $90-100, nobody else will, so the whole debate is theoretical at best.

To: Augustus Gloop who wrote (15042)	1/3/2005 12:45:54 PM
From: GUSTAVE JAEGER	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 20773

Re: But in any event I think you'd agree that an Iran with Nukes isn't good for anyone... ...and nuking Iran isn't good for China. Did your Pentagon freaks factor China into their Iran equation? Looks like the Chinese gorilla stands in your way: Iran wants China its top oil importer (Agencies) Updated: 2004-11-07 10:29 Iran wants China to replace Japan as its biggest importer of oil and gas, Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh was reported as saying here. "Japan is our number one energy importer due to historical reasons ... but we would like to give preference to exports to China," Zanganeh was quoted as saying the China Business Weekly magazine. "From the supply side, we have no difficulties (in making China the top energy oil importer from Iran)," the minister added. Iran and China last week signed a preliminary accord under which China will buy 10 million tonnes a year of liquefied natural gas (LNG) for 25 years in a deal worth 100 billion dollars. The memorandum of understanding also grants to Chinese oil giant Sinopec the right to exploit the Yadavaran oil field on a buy-back basis in cooperation with a major international oil company. On Saturday, Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing said in Tehran that Beijing opposed US efforts to refer Iran to the United Nations Security Council over its nuclear programme. "It would only make the issue more complicated and difficult to work out," Li said during a news conference. The United States accuses Iran of secretly trying to develop nuclear weapons under cover of its civilian atomic energy program and wants the UN watchdog International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to take Iran before the UN Security Council when the IAEA meets in Vienna on November 25. chinadaily.com.cn Such a quandary for South Asian countries, huh? Squeezed between the American rock and the Chinese hard place.... Gus