Iran’s atomic ambitions dubious

“”Fool me once … shame on you … Fool me … Can’t get fooled again.”” A brilliant Bushism from the master of wordary. We all know what he was getting at; What he meant to say was probably something like this: “”I was wrong about Iraq. My bad. It won’t happen again.”” Actually, it is happening again. There’s been a lot of noise in the newspaper regarding Iran’s atomic ambitions. Current news focuses on the impending threat of sanctions. It also tries to paint a unified picture. U.S. officials have said Iran sanctions are in the bag. The papers have hinted that China and Russia are ready to join the Euro-American club and vote for sanctions. The only true words are that any sanctions from the Security Council will be soft sanctions. I have yet to see a paper show a definitive voice, a leader or a United Nations ambassador from China or Russia who would agree with the U.S. view.

Anyway, as the drama unfolds, there is only one question remaining: Why is there drama? If you search through the articles, periodicals, International Atomic Energy Agency reports and other sources of reliable information, not one weapon of mass destruction or attempted WMD has been found. Iran has biochemical capabilities; like Saddam, it could build and use chemical and biological weapons. During their war with Saddam it has been reported that, while chemical weapons were used against Iran, they did not respond with chemical weapons. Good restraint on their part.

Iran does not have WMDs. Yes, they do have a ton of oil, however, they have to import one-third of their gasoline. Refined oil for power plants is not a viable option when they have to import gasoline. Nuclear power is a much cleaner and cheaper alternative. With crude oil at $70-plus a barrel, oil used in power production has a high opportunity cost. Any business major can understand that burning oil is like burning money. It is the lifeblood of desert nations. Motivation for work on atomic energy is present, WMDs are not present and the will to use deadly weapons has not been displayed. The only leg the U.S. has been standing on is the lack of documentation. The majority of their nuclear program has been known for years. Two secret bunker-style facilities were revealed by an Iranian group. The facilities have been inspected and no weapons found.

The sticking point is documentation. Iran does not have documentation to show exactly what it was doing at these secret places for the last 20 years. It truly is Iraq all over again. In the weeks to come, Iran will have nothing to fear. The U.S. will be reined in by China and Russia and will have to form another “”Coalition of the Willing.”” They are already seeking out COWs to join them in fighting Iran. War is not really an option for the U.S. because we are bogged down on too many fronts. Interesting fact: Iran is a republic with full suffrage. It also has the largest Jewish population of any Arab nation. The Jewish population actually makes up less than 1 percent of the population, despite that one seat in “”congress”” is guaranteed to a Jewish representative. It is a nation with issues, and none of those issues will be solved through isolation or the barrel of a gun.

Andrew Gardiner
junior majoring in aerospace engineering and mathematics

UA students need to grow up

This is in response to James A. Parks’ letter, “”UA should not be students’ nanny.”” I fully agree with the premise that the university should not be a nanny to the childish and irresponsible in the student body. I further agree that invasion of privacy on the part of university is neither warranted nor should it be tolerated. If a student’s grades fall below an acceptable level, the university will expel that student, because he or she has shown neither the discipline nor maturity to be at this institution. Similarly, students have to sign a contract before they come to the UA saying they will adhere to the university’s code of conduct. No one is invading the privacy of students whose residences are issued a red tag. That they have received one is a matter of public record.

Furthermore, the Tucson residents around the university have a reasonable expectation to live in peace without drunken, inconsiderate boneheads making their lives miserable every weekend. Nowhere in the code of conduct does it state that the agreed-to code

applies only on university property. Why then should a student’s behavior be

ignored? If students are unable to take on adult responsibilities and behavior, then send them home to their real nannies:

their parents.

Dan Moynihan
Lunar and Planetary Laboratory staff engineer