On the radar: WaPo calls for doing something to Iran again; the haunting possibility of nuclear terror; Restoring funds to reduce that possibility; 9/11 and the bomb; and a BMD tour d’horizon from Frank Rose.

September 7, 2011 | Edited by Benjamin Loehrke and Mary Kaszynski

Does the ed board have an Iran strategy? - An editorial in today’s Washington Post warmed over the findings of last week’s IAEA report, calling Iran an “undimmed danger.” The editorial then notes that sanctions, sabotage, and diplomacy have yet to halt Iran’s nuclear program. It then offers the impressively vague recommendation that the U.S. “needs its own strategy for responding to Iran’s advances.”

Early tweet - @abuaardvark: “Wait, WaPo already published its ‘Iran nukes are bad’ editorial last month - watch out for quota busting guys.”

Preempting the Post’s editorial - “The updated IAEA report was widely circulated as proof that Iran is coming ever closer to achieving a breakout capability, and that may well be, but there’s more good news to this report than the headlines suggested,” wrote analyst Kelsey Hartigan. “While Iran is now operating a new generation of advanced centrifuges, it’s telling that it has taken this long to do so.” http://ow.ly/6nLex

Editor’s Note - Iran poses a serious challenge for U.S. national security, and it is sensible for the Post to call for a comprehensive strategy to keep Iran from going nuclear. However, the Post inflates the threat and falsely constrains US policy options. 

--As former intelligence officer Paul Pillar warned last month, such logic, as used by the Post, allows commentators to both drive for more pressure on Iran and “say at some point that sanctions have not ‘worked’ and therefore one must resort to something else, particularly military force.”

Welcome to Early Warning. Subscribe to our morning email or follow us on twitter.

”Hauntingly possible” - “Today, there is enough nuclear material to build 120,000 weapons. As long as fissile material is poorly stored and rogue states like Iran and North Korea continue their illicit weapons programs, nuclear terrorism remains a haunting possibility,” writes Amy Zegart her op-ed “Al Qaeda is Down, Not Out.” http://ow.ly/6nLT2

Put your money where your threats are - There is broad agreement on the urgent need to reduce the threat of nuclear terrorism, but lately Congress has been cutting funding for programs necessary to do so. “Congress' failure to accord top priority to programs to keep fissile materials out of the hands of terrorists is highly irresponsible,” writes Lt. Gen. Robert Gard (Ret.).

--Congress slashed nonproliferation FY11 budgets by $369 million, and the House slashed $428 million more from FY12 budgets. “Now it is up to the Senate to reverse these cuts,” Gen. Gard added. http://ow.ly/6nFfg

The Senate steps up - As Gen. Gard’s op-ed went to press, the Senate increased nonproliferation funding by $109 million in the FY12 markup of the Energy and Water Appropriations bill. Final funding levels will likely be decided in conference between the House and Senate, writes Kingston Reif. http://ow.ly/6nFLA

9/11 and the Bomb - Ten years after 9/11, nuclear expert Michael Krepon asks how that day impacted proliferation, arms control, and new nuclear weapons program. Some things changed (the nuclear threats posed by non-state actors have increased), while some things stayed the same (political divisions on arms control remain). Read the full post at Arms Control Wonk. http://ow.ly/6nHbi

European missile defense policy in a nutshell - Speaking in at the Multinational BMD Conference, the State Department’s Frank Rose said, “We believe that through cooperation, Russia will gain the reassurance it is seeking, without limitations that the United States – and NATO – cannot accept.

--Missile defense cooperation is in the common interests of the United States, NATO, and Russia, and such cooperation will enhance the security of not only those participating, but the overall international community as well.” Read the full speech for an overview of US BMD policy. http://ow.ly/6nK3B