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As The Guardian recounts from its speech coverage:
The only peaceful way to prevent an Iranian nuclear bomb is to place a "clear red line" on uranium enrichment, Netanyahu says. Then he goes on to literally draw a red line on a chart representing enrichment.
"A red line must be drawn ... on Iran's efforts to enrich uranium," he says. "Basically any bomb consists of explosive material and a mechanism to ignite it. ... In the case of Iran's plans, the gunpowder is enriched uranium. The fuse is a nuclear detonator." Netanyahu says it's far more difficult for Iran to enrich uranium than to build the fuse.
"Those uranium plants are visible and they're still vulnerable." In contrast, he says, a detonator could be built in a year, maybe less. He says it could be constructed in a difficult-to-locate workshop.
Netanyahu holds up a chart representing a nuclear bomb.
"This is a bomb," he says. "This is a fuse."
He is explaining where the red line on enriching uranium should be drawn. He says Iran is well into "the second stage" of enrichment. By next summer, they will move on to the final stage, he says. From there it's only a few months, maybe a few weeks, before they get enough enriched uranium for a bomb, he says.
"If these are the facts, where should a red line be drawn?" he asks.
Netanyahu takes out a red marker. "Where should a red line be drawn? he says. "A red line should be drawn right here."
He draws a red line, at the end of the "second stage," at 90% of the necessary enriched uranium for the first bomb.
The only problem, however, is that Netanyahu's claims are betrayed by the facts and, as is always the case, were offered amidst the lingering reality that Israel refuses to acknowledge the existence of its own nuclear arsenal.
As Christian Stork recounts today, in a piece titled "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Iran and the Bomb, Or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Facts," Netanyahu's claims at the UN, like that of most western media, "are awash in misleading narratives, incomplete histories, and outright fiction about Iran and its nuclear program."
Regarding the most recent US intelligence estimate on Iran's nuclear program, Stork writes:
The 2011 National Intelligence Estimate (NIE), a synthesized compilation of data evaluated by America's 17 intelligence agencies, declared that there were no serious revisions to the controversial (for war hawks) 2007 NIE--which stated Iran stopped its nuclear weapons program in 2003. While the 2011 estimate did include updated progress on Iran's civilian nuclear program, such as an increased number of operative centrifuges, it still could not muster any evidence to indicate the program was being weaponized.
# # #
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |

As The Guardian recounts from its speech coverage:
The only peaceful way to prevent an Iranian nuclear bomb is to place a "clear red line" on uranium enrichment, Netanyahu says. Then he goes on to literally draw a red line on a chart representing enrichment.
"A red line must be drawn ... on Iran's efforts to enrich uranium," he says. "Basically any bomb consists of explosive material and a mechanism to ignite it. ... In the case of Iran's plans, the gunpowder is enriched uranium. The fuse is a nuclear detonator." Netanyahu says it's far more difficult for Iran to enrich uranium than to build the fuse.
"Those uranium plants are visible and they're still vulnerable." In contrast, he says, a detonator could be built in a year, maybe less. He says it could be constructed in a difficult-to-locate workshop.
Netanyahu holds up a chart representing a nuclear bomb.
"This is a bomb," he says. "This is a fuse."
He is explaining where the red line on enriching uranium should be drawn. He says Iran is well into "the second stage" of enrichment. By next summer, they will move on to the final stage, he says. From there it's only a few months, maybe a few weeks, before they get enough enriched uranium for a bomb, he says.
"If these are the facts, where should a red line be drawn?" he asks.
Netanyahu takes out a red marker. "Where should a red line be drawn? he says. "A red line should be drawn right here."
He draws a red line, at the end of the "second stage," at 90% of the necessary enriched uranium for the first bomb.
The only problem, however, is that Netanyahu's claims are betrayed by the facts and, as is always the case, were offered amidst the lingering reality that Israel refuses to acknowledge the existence of its own nuclear arsenal.
As Christian Stork recounts today, in a piece titled "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Iran and the Bomb, Or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Facts," Netanyahu's claims at the UN, like that of most western media, "are awash in misleading narratives, incomplete histories, and outright fiction about Iran and its nuclear program."
Regarding the most recent US intelligence estimate on Iran's nuclear program, Stork writes:
The 2011 National Intelligence Estimate (NIE), a synthesized compilation of data evaluated by America's 17 intelligence agencies, declared that there were no serious revisions to the controversial (for war hawks) 2007 NIE--which stated Iran stopped its nuclear weapons program in 2003. While the 2011 estimate did include updated progress on Iran's civilian nuclear program, such as an increased number of operative centrifuges, it still could not muster any evidence to indicate the program was being weaponized.
# # #

As The Guardian recounts from its speech coverage:
The only peaceful way to prevent an Iranian nuclear bomb is to place a "clear red line" on uranium enrichment, Netanyahu says. Then he goes on to literally draw a red line on a chart representing enrichment.
"A red line must be drawn ... on Iran's efforts to enrich uranium," he says. "Basically any bomb consists of explosive material and a mechanism to ignite it. ... In the case of Iran's plans, the gunpowder is enriched uranium. The fuse is a nuclear detonator." Netanyahu says it's far more difficult for Iran to enrich uranium than to build the fuse.
"Those uranium plants are visible and they're still vulnerable." In contrast, he says, a detonator could be built in a year, maybe less. He says it could be constructed in a difficult-to-locate workshop.
Netanyahu holds up a chart representing a nuclear bomb.
"This is a bomb," he says. "This is a fuse."
He is explaining where the red line on enriching uranium should be drawn. He says Iran is well into "the second stage" of enrichment. By next summer, they will move on to the final stage, he says. From there it's only a few months, maybe a few weeks, before they get enough enriched uranium for a bomb, he says.
"If these are the facts, where should a red line be drawn?" he asks.
Netanyahu takes out a red marker. "Where should a red line be drawn? he says. "A red line should be drawn right here."
He draws a red line, at the end of the "second stage," at 90% of the necessary enriched uranium for the first bomb.
The only problem, however, is that Netanyahu's claims are betrayed by the facts and, as is always the case, were offered amidst the lingering reality that Israel refuses to acknowledge the existence of its own nuclear arsenal.
As Christian Stork recounts today, in a piece titled "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Iran and the Bomb, Or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Facts," Netanyahu's claims at the UN, like that of most western media, "are awash in misleading narratives, incomplete histories, and outright fiction about Iran and its nuclear program."
Regarding the most recent US intelligence estimate on Iran's nuclear program, Stork writes:
The 2011 National Intelligence Estimate (NIE), a synthesized compilation of data evaluated by America's 17 intelligence agencies, declared that there were no serious revisions to the controversial (for war hawks) 2007 NIE--which stated Iran stopped its nuclear weapons program in 2003. While the 2011 estimate did include updated progress on Iran's civilian nuclear program, such as an increased number of operative centrifuges, it still could not muster any evidence to indicate the program was being weaponized.
# # #