Rhétorique Heats Up on Iran

On the radar: Sarkozy talks options on tables about Iran; The Iran plan; NNSA making more explosives; NATO-Russia cooperation on the up and up; KC plant opposition dropped; Ploughshares experts talk Arab Spring; and a less than rational defense budget.

September 1, 2011 | Edited by Benjamin Loehrke

Une attaque préventif? - “[Iran’s] military nuclear and ballistic ambitions constitute a growing threat that may lead to a preventive attack against Iranian sites that would provoke a major crisis that France wants to avoid at all costs," said French President Nicolas Sarkozy yesterday.

--Noting that “Iran refuses to negotiate seriously,” Sarkozy said France would work with allies to strengthen international sanctions against Iran. AFP reports. http://ow.ly/6iJbf

Unlikely, yet plans exist - Doing as the Pentagon does, an officer within the strategic plans and policy directorate for the Joint Chiefs of Staff has an analysis on invading Iran with lessons from Iraq.

--From the outset, the author notes, “In these current conditions of political and military fatigue, a U.S. invasion of Iran seems unlikely.” The rest of the report is more unsettling than it sounds. From Battleland. http://ow.ly/6iK0d

Editor's note: Follow-up analysis on Iran plans should include the long list of disastrous consequences for using military force on Iran, along with an appointment for "getting your head examined" for talking about another land war in Asia. 

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More bang, ever fewer bombs - NNSA broke ground yesterday on a $142 million facility that will more than double the Pantex Plant’s capacity to manufacture high explosives for nuclear weapons. This High Explosives Pressing Facility will be able to produce 500 explosive hemispheres a year for nuclear weapons.

--NNSA says it needs the facility to meet the demands of future Life Extension Programs (LEP) for aging nuclear warheads. Analyst Nick Roth asks, why are production capacities doubling or more while the arsenal is shrinking? http://ow.ly/6iI1n

Optimism for NATO-Russia cooperation - The Russian public does not like NATO very much, but there are positive signs that cooperation is leading to better public perception. Russian media gave positive attention to recent NATO-Russia cooperation on counter-terrorism exercises.

--Increased NATO-Russia cooperation will “contribute to changing the public mood related to engagement with NATO.” With time, this could bring the goal strategic partnership with Russia into view for the NATO alliance, writes Jorge Benitez in NATO Source. http://ow.ly/6iL37

Concern about Syria and the latest on Libya - Ploughshares’ Joe Cirincione talks with Wolf Blitzer about Assad’s chemical weapons. http://ow.ly/6iLyb Joel Rubin gives CBS news an update on Libya. http://ow.ly/6iLuY

KC plant ballot measure dropped - the activists seeking a ballot measure opposing a new nuclear weapons plant in Kansas City called off the effort, avoiding a protracted court battle over the initiative, The Kansas City Star reports. http://ow.ly/6iGrd

140 characters of budget analysis - @MarkThompson: If you maintained your car like we fund national defense, you'd spend most of your money on tires. ti.me/o5BPkc