Does Iran Have the Know-How to Build the Bomb?
Over the weekend, the New York Times revealed an alarming conclusion by the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog agency: Iran now has enough know-how to put together a workable atomic bomb. That report, the Times hastened to add, is preliminary. But the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) estimate of Iran’s bomb-making information goes beyond other assessments made public by several governments. Yet two key Obama administration aides yesterday ducked questions about whether Iran really has the data to design and build a bomb. “I’m not in a position to characterize that report or our own intelligence,” U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice said on Meet the Press. “There are various assessments and they don’t all align.” Appearing on Face the Nation, National Security Advisor James Jones also downplayed Iran’s nuclear knowledge. “Whether they know how to do it or not is a matter of some conjecture,” he said. “What we’re watching is, ‘What is their intent?’” All this speculat
