Memo to Romney: Iran’s nuclear program has nothing to do with dirty bombs
via Lobe Log
Joe Cirincione, the President of the nuclear non-proliferation-focused Ploughshares Fund, explains why Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney “further undermined his national security credentials, showing a fundamental misunderstanding of nuclear threats” with remarks he made during a private fundraising dinner in May. “Iran’s nuclear program has nothing to do with dirty bombs”, writes Cirincione, and a potential president should be well aware of that fact:
Dirty bombs (which have never been used) are very different from nuclear bombs, which trigger a chain reaction in a small core of fissile material — highly-enriched uranium or plutonium — to produce a massive explosion. The explosion produces heat, blast, and radiation that all cause catastrophic damage.
…
Iran’s production of enriched uranium has nothing to do with dirty bombs. The core problem is that Iran is enriching uranium it says is for reactor fuel but could be turned into fuel for nuclear weapons. The most important reason to contain Iran’s nuclear program is to prevent a dangerous, destabilizing nuclear arms race in the Middle East and an emboldened Iranian regime — not to prevent Iran from giving terrorists nuclear materials for a dirty bomb. And it is crucial that anyone involved in the discussion of Iran’s nuclear program — and certainly the Republican presidential nominee — understand this.
En Español
The Latest
From IPS News
- Afghan Refugees, Medical Visitors Bemoan Treatment in Pakistan
- Gender Equality & Women’s Rights Wiped out Under the Taliban
- Journalism Under Attack by Neo-Populist Governments in Central America
- Education Cannot Wait Proud to Participate in Global Citizen Festival 2022: Calling on World Leaders and Donors to Empower Girls and End Extreme Poverty Now
- The Hunger Factory (II): The Modern Horsemen of the Apocalypse
- ECW Interviews Three Inspiring #Youth4EiE Advocates on International Youth Day
- ‘Aid Organizations Must Include the Youth Voice’ August 12, 2022—International Youth Day
- Democracy in Iraq Under Threat Following the Storming of Parliament
- A Safe Haven for Ousted Political Leaders Escaping Executions and Hangings
- The Hunger Factory (I): The Miracle of the Sudden Rise and Fall of Food Prices
- Online fundraising for IPS Inter Press Service at Razoo