Let Iran Go Nuclear?

[Alexander the Pretty Good]

Why should/shoudn't we?

Would letting the Mullahs get nukes add stability - like MAD did in the Cold War? Or will it destabilize the region, and maybe set off a nuclear exchange?

I don't think we should let it happen, but what do you have to say?

EDIT: I mean access to nuclear weaponry, for this argument.

[Sartaq]

I think it all depends on how hell-bent Iran is on using nukes. They have to know they would subsequently wiped off the earth if they ever fired on US allies for instance.

[Sjakihata]

Well, I think we cant really say that they cant have nuclear power. Generally Im against nukes, so no nukes for Iran. But they should be allowed to produce nuclear power, imo.

[Alexander the Pretty Good]

I meant nuclear weapons, sorry. (Fixed first post)

Can't they derive fissible materials from nuclear power plants, though? Gaining backdoor access to the Bomb?

[Leet Eriksson]

Iran is not stupid, since Oil is running out eventually, maintaining a nuclear reactor and gaining experience would help them in the longer run.

I think they did tell allow the US to check their reactor out, allowed US and european companies stakes and whatnot. So i think they are pretty honest.

EDIT: Ooh weapons, well that would make things a bit more complex. But i think generally no one should be allowed nukes in the first place. If they get nuclear weapons, their government would need a replacement. The USA also should disarm Isreal, since they started the nuclear arms race in the middle east.

[Don Corleone]

You know, I've been thinking this one over a lot. And I realized something... that when it comes to Iran, I've been intellectually dishonest to myself and to all of you.

Iran is a sovereign nation. If they possess the means to develop nuclear energy or nuclear weaponry, on their own, who are we to tell them they cannot have it? I think we do have the right, and should to the extreme, seek to prohibit third parties from providing them with the technology. But if they achieve it on their own, I do not know by what moral right we could deny them.

That being said, I have deep disbelief that the North Koreans developed nuclear technology on their own. When we can prove who it was that provided them with it (and yes Virginia, Kim Jong Il has the bomb), they should be punished sufficiently that they'll never make that mistake again, regardless of how much that punishment might hurt us in the process. It's our duty to our children and grandchildren.

[Sartaq]

EDIT: Ooh weapons, well that would make things a bit more complex. But i think generally no one should be allowed nukes in the first place.

Ideally. But once pandora's box is opened, closing it is....

[Alexander the Pretty Good]

I shouldn't say anything regarding Israel because that'll get OT in my own thread...



Nevermind.

Exaggeration Alert
DC - would you let a madman build his own pipebombs? If they are just a chemistry wiz?

[Don Corleone]

Good question ATPG, but the answer is no, because the two situations are not coherent.

A sovereign nation has the ultimate authority to what it believes to be within it's best interest. An individual surrenders that right when they agree to live within a society. They retain other fundamental rights, such as a limited self determination, free enterprise, private property and self defense. But they do not possess the right to achieve any and all means of technology at their disposal.

[Alexander the Pretty Good]

What limits do sovereign nations have on their interactions with other sovereigns? What duties do they have to the "community of nations?" If none, what stops us from removing weapons or anything from Iran if we have even a whim to do it?

Or even better, if we have a strong, reasonable suspicion that Iran is up to no good in trying to attain weapons of incredible destruction?

[solypsist]

Hey I know. Let's invade, remove the current whacko fundamentalist government, destabilize the entire region, wage a 10 year war against the rebels who support the ousted leader, and then when we've had enough of it let's let another whacko fundamentalist government take it's place. We'll arm them heavily and in 20 more years when they invade a peaceful nation we'll have forgotten all about it! Who's with me?!

but seriously:

The world needs to be a level playing field in order to ensure equity, and the middle east has been marginalized and subjugated for far too long.

This is no different than what the USA did for it's NATO cohorts after we ushered in the atomic age. Nuclear power has immense potential, and frankly I can't think of a better place to build a bunch of reactors than in the desert.