John Kerry Concedes Iran Is Moving Closer to Possessing Nuclear Weapon

[FrodosPet]

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/Politics/john-kerry-concedes-iran-moving-closing-possessing-nuclear/story?id=18655927

By DANA HUGHES (@dana_hughes)

March 5, 2013

At the end of his first overseas trip as Secretary of State, John Kerry acknowledged that despite the continued diplomacy and tough sanctions being leveled against Iran, the regime continues to get closer to possessing a nuclear weapon.

"Lines have been drawn before and they've been passed," Kerry said. "That's why the president has been so definitive this time. This is a very challenging moment with great risks and stakes for everybody because the region will be far less stable and far more threatened if Iran were to have a nuclear weapon."

~ snip ~

Kerry said the threat extends beyond the possibility that Iran could actually use the weapon on its enemies, specifically Israel. Iran simply having a nuclear weapon would "spur a nuclear arms race" in the region and could be used to support terrorists groups like Hezbollah, he said.

~ snip ~

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Not this s##t again! Can someone please remind Secretary Kerry that Bush lied and people died, and that in 2007, the head of the IAEA, Mohamed ElBaradei, stated that he had seen "no evidence" of Iran developing nuclear weapons?

[TwilightGardener]

1. Baffled as to why you choose a quote from 2007 to dispute Kerry's remarks

about Iran.

[bananas]

6. Especially since in 2009 ElBaradei said Iran wanted nuclear weapon technology

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x3928432

Thu Jun-18-09 06:47 AM

U.N. Atomic Energy Chief Says Iran Wants Bomb Technology
Source: NY Times

PARIS — Mohamed ElBaradei, the chief of the United Nations nuclear watchdog agency, said it was his “gut feeling” that Iran’s leaders wanted the technology to build nuclear weapons “to send a message to their neighbors, to the rest of the world: ‘Don’t mess with us.’ ”

He spoke in a BBC interview broadcast Tuesday and Wednesday as protesters took to the streets of Tehran and other Iranian cities, demanding that last Friday’s disputed election result be overturned and confronting President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad with the leadership’s biggest domestic challenge since the Islamic Revolution three decades ago.

Dr. ElBaradei has made similar points in the past, officials at the International Atomic Energy Agency, of which he is director general, said Wednesday, but his latest remarks were less hedged with diplomatic caveats than previously.

<snip>

[ProSense]

2. You know what would help

"Not this s##t again! Can someone please remind Secretary Kerry that Bush lied and people died, and that in 2007, the head of the IAEA, Mohamed ElBaradei, stated that he had seen "no evidence" of Iran developing nuclear weapons?"

...if people stopped pushing the MSM spin. Do a little due diligence to see if the quotes are cherry picked, taken out of context and editorialized.

The ABC headline is bogus: "John Kerry Concedes Iran Is Moving Closer to Possessing Nuclear Weapon"

There is nothing in the report that indicates Kerry makes that claim.

Secretary of State John Kerry Interview With Martha Raddatz from Doha Transcript
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/TheNote/secretary-state-john-kerry-interview-martha-raddatz-doha/story

RADDATZ: Secretary Kerry, let's start with Iran. You have said they do not have an infinite amount of time for negotiations. The Israelis have said they're moving closer to the red line. Do you agree with the Israelis?

KERRY: Well, I'm not getting into red lines and timing publicly except to reiterate what the president has said again and again. Which is he prefers to have a diplomatic solution. He would like to see the P1+5 process and negotiation process be able to work and avoid any consideration of any kind of military action.

Kerry goes on to say specifically that he's not getting into time frames and that there is time for negotiation.



http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=2462109

[FrodosPet]

3. So this part is made up?

The ABC headline is bogus: "John Kerry Concedes Iran Is Moving Closer to Possessing Nuclear Weapon"

There is nothing in the report that indicates Kerry makes that claim.

---------------------------------------

RADDATZ: It seems we've been hopeful year after year after year and yet Iran gets closer and closer to a nuclear weapon.

KERRY: You're absolutely correct. That's why lines have been drawn before and they've been passed. That's why the president has been so definitive this time. This is a very challenging moment with great risks and stakes for everybody because the region will be far less stable and far more threatened if Iran were to have a nuclear weapon.

It will spur a nuclear arms race. It has risks for greater terrorism. It will be destabilizing. There are many reasons why this is risky. And that's why the president has said so clearly his policy is that Iran will not have a nuclear weapon.

[ProSense]

5. Context is everything.

"So this part is made up?"

He responded to a question about an ongoing process. The entire interview is about giving diplomacy time to work.

RADDATZ: Do you think we have this year and no longer?

KERRY: I'm not, again Martha, I'm not going to discuss time frames.

RADDATZ: And yet the time frame, as you said red lines keep passing (CROSSTALK)

KERRY: Well, they have in the past, but not with this president. They have in the past, but right now you have the most significant cooperation in history between Israeli intelligence, American intelligence, other intelligence entities, the international community which is working diligently on a day to day basis to track. And that's one of the reasons why Iran's reluctance to allow the IAEA to get its questions answered and to do its job becomes even more provocative. Now, we just had a meeting in Almaty in Kazakhstan of the P5+1. They scheduled another meeting. There is the time here for the Iranians to make a serious proposal and I will repeat what the president has said and what I have said a number of times, we are prepared through P5+1 and negotiating process to engage in a serious proposal that they would make to prove their program is in fact a peaceful program. We look forward to doing so in the spirit of mutual respect, and a spirit of good faith in order to get this resolved peacefully.

[Puzzledtraveller]

4. Wow, he didn't waste any time did he?

Maybe we can send in Hanz Blix!!

[madokie]

7. 2007 to 2013 is a long time

A lot can happen to change things from then to now.
Personally I'm against nuclear anything except medical

[treestar]

8. Certainly jumping to conclusions

Is he recommending war here? No.

Iran probably is trying for nukes and might make some progress. Because Bush lied about Iraq once does not mean than Iran will never have nukes.