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Ahmadinejad Sends Obama a Wake-Up Call

Iran crosses another red line with 20% enrichment boost

By Kevin Spak,  Newser Staff

Posted Feb 8, 2010 11:28 AM CST

(Newser) – Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s orders to jack up Iran’s plutonium enrichment to 20% is a shot across the bow of the Obama administration, throwing serious doubts on its strategy for engaging Iran. “If this were poker, one would have to say Iran is calling Washington’s bluff,” writes Michael Adler in the Daily Beast. “Or treating US policy as if it were a bluff.”

Iran is upping enrichment to 20%, theoretically to produce medical diagnostic isotopes, but “given the geometric curve that is enrichment,” that’s “all but the last step needed” to jump to full, weapons-grade production. By taking that step, Iran is showing Washington that its current strategy—of trying engagement while moving for sanctions—isn’t going to be enough. “The Unites States may be trapped in a stillborn policy of doing too little, too late.”

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, waves to the media, at the presidency in Tehran, Iran, Jan. 25, 2010.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, waves to the media, at the presidency in Tehran, Iran, Jan. 25, 2010.   (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
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COMMENTS
Showing 3 of 64 comments
outoforder345
Feb 9, 2010 12:08 PM CST
@eddy..when has that region ever been secure? but since you live in dc, i must step back and since you stated that you KNOW what you are talking about and i don't know what i am about, i will leave it lie. time will tell as to which one is full of shit. it appears that you feel i am i hope that you are right. should i not be full of shit, we all are up shit creek without a paddle.
Rob
Feb 9, 2010 7:37 AM CST
@outo Chernobyl was nothing compared to a detonation that will send radioactive material to the stratosphere where it will jet around the Earth, not to mention retaliatory detonations. Make sense now?
Eleutherius
Feb 9, 2010 2:06 AM CST
I'm torn between genuine concern about the possibility of Iran getting a nuclear weapon on the one hand and the joy of seeing the US being given the finger on the other.

More Newser Stories

Ahmadinejad Ramps Up Iran's Plutonium Production

Ahmadinejad: Iran Ready for Nuke Talks

Confirmed: Iran Enriching Uranium Underground

Iran: We Won't Retreat 'One Iota' on Nuclear Push

Ahmadinejad Threatens 'War Without Boundaries'


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