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The Spectacle Blog
A couple of weeks ago the International Relations and Security Network issued an analysis suggesting that in the case of an attack on Iran’s nuclear program, the Islamic Republic might respond through proxy militias targeting the Persian Gulf island nation of Bahrain, where the US 5th Fleet is stationed. But the Bahrainis themselves seem to have the opposite fear: that Bahrain is likely to find itself in the crosshairs if Iran succeeds in building nuclear weapons, as Ben Birnbaum reports:
Bahrain’s ambassador to the United States told The Washington Times that she fears her country - home to the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet - could become the first casualty of a nuclear-armed Iran.
“Iran has had claims in the past on Bahrain,” Ambassador Houda Nonoo said in an interview. “The latest was on their 30th anniversary in February 2009, where they mentioned Bahrain as the 14th province. Very similar to [Saddam Hussein’s] Iraq mentioning Kuwait as their 19th province.”
“We’re a small country, we’re just across the pond,” she said, noting that the island nation is “just 26 miles away from Bushehr,” the Iranian port city that hosts one of the nuclear program’s key installations. “If Iran has [a nuclear] capability, nobody is going to be able to stop them.”
Nonoo doesn’t quite say that Bahrain would prefer a military strike on Iran to Iran going nuclear, but she doesn’t say the opposite either — “That’s the million-dollar question,” she says. The experts Birnbaum talked to agree that the Bahraini government would be happy to see Iranian nuclear facilities pulverized, even given the risk. And Nonoo does say she’s skeptical that US/UN/EU sanctions can succeed in halting Iran’s progress: “The sanctions never had a chance of working because they’ve placed so many sanctions before, and they’ve never worked. Why was this one going to be any different?”
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More Blog Posts by John Tabin
http://spectator.org/blog/2010/10/08/iranian-nukes-bahraini-angst
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LMAO| 10.8.10 @ 8:55PM
I sympathize with your itch to get your war on. But please, for the sake of professionalism use a bit of due diligence; Iran has 30 provinces not 13. I can see how this happened, they asked a low level staffer to find out how many provinces Iran has, the kid said 30, his boss heard 13. Then someone told the ambassador to claim Iran had called Bahrain their 14th province, really slipshod. And the Ambassador chick being an arab probably looked at the baby blues of whoever said it, and with that raspy voice said, "sure habibi, you the baba".
Don't fret there's an easy fix, get this ambassador back on the line and get her to claim Iran called Bahrain their 31'st province. Trust me, this will work, the american public are gullible like you wouldn't believe: Read my lips-no new taxes, There are WMD's in mesopotamia, Change you can believe in, etc... Just go with it, if you have Palin show a little cleavage and sing it, we will bite. Best of luck!
John Baptist| 10.8.10 @ 9:26PM
You said it brother.
Alan Brooks| 10.8.10 @ 11:58PM
"Just go with it, if you have Palin show a little cleavage and sing it, we will bite."
REVEALING connotations.
Mack| 10.8.10 @ 9:29PM
This is pure BS coming from the Ambassador! The fact that Bahrain is only 26 miles away from the Bushehr where the Iranian nuclear facilities are located can only mean that it can never be a target of a nuclear attack from Iran! Why? It's very clear, because an Iranian attack on a target so close to the Iranian border and land will mean nothing but direct nuclear pollution and radioactive dust on Iranian soil. Doesn't that sound illogical?! On the other hand, if the Nuclear facilities get attacked, Bahrain being so close to the Iranian city (26 miles as is claimed) will be one of the first victims of the pollution, etc. I suggest that the ambassador cut the crap and try to find more sound reasons to try to get Iran under fire.
David W| 10.8.10 @ 10:46PM
I doubt the real fear is a nuclear attack (though the Iranian government is probably stupid enough to do it even with the consequences). The fear is Iran invades and, because of the nuclear weapons, no one raises a finger to help (Obama sure as heck wouldn't). Or, Iran, after taking Bharain, threatens to use a nuke to destroy it (a "if I can't have it, no on can" rant).
hook| 10.8.10 @ 10:52PM
I sure as hell agree Obama won't have the courage to take out Iran's nuclear program, but I believe Israel will. For some reason Obama appears to believe that if only Israel would go back to 67 borders (or maybe 48 borders) Iran wouldn't be so angry. Musn't make Hitler "cross."
Bobby| 10.11.10 @ 10:16AM
How true
There is no appeasing Islam
You show weakness,they show strength
CONSVLTVS | 10.9.10 @ 8:00AM
It makes sense that most of the PG states would fear a nuclear Iran. It also makes sense that sanctions will not suddenly work to constrain a regime that has been able to subvert, evade, or ignore them. What's left? Thank goodness for Stuxnet. Thank goodness for Israel.
Franklin| 10.9.10 @ 2:24PM
Amen
QUESTION| 10.11.10 @ 12:20PM
"The sanctions never had a chance of working because they've placed so many sanctions before, and they've never worked."
They haven't? Because last time we checked, Iran had no nuclear arsenal, and it was the consensus of the US intelligence community that they were not at present pursuing them.
Amor de Cosmos| 10.11.10 @ 1:22PM
LMAO, are you saying Iran is not a threat to her neighbors and that this is all a ruse to empower the cabal behind everything? (Masons, Jews, Big Oil, Haliburton, Col. Sanders' Zombie, take your pick)
LMAO| 10.11.10 @ 3:05PM
Amor dude, what part of me are you not getting? I said I sympathize with the plight of chickenhawks. I understand that Iran is a threat to Pax Americana and Israeli-hegemony in middle east. I'm all for using poor slobs from ghettos of our failed post industrial society to wage another war in the Middle East to make sure we can drive our SUVs and that the Israelis can work thru their 'out of Europe' issues on the Palestinians BUT I just wish the powers that be, Col Sanders, whomever, would just be smoother about the whole process. It's one thing to be talked into doing something stupid by a real operator and it's a completely different thing to be taken for a fool by Forrest Gump. Just up the production values, due a little fact checking, clinch up the duck's behind 'till it can float....is that really asking too much?
Amor de Cosmos| 10.11.10 @ 5:01PM
LMAO, let them have nukes in other words. We Americans are just so passe in our thinking about it being a bad idea that nuts have nukes. Sigh.
What actually is a threat and danger in LMAOworld? Failure of everyone to have their own social worker?
LMAO| 10.11.10 @ 6:04PM
Amor mia, I don't know how many different ways I can express this sentiment without seeming disingenuous with respect to my convictions; I support WAR.inc, I'm not a right or wrong sort of guy. If the president had a little mustache, spoke like Arnold Schwarzenegger and said hate on the Hee-brews for god and country it would make no difference to me than if the president was from africa and said hate on Muslims, I would respect the office of president and fall into line.
And I concur 100% with your sentiment that the only peeps on the planet qualified to possess nukes are the ones with the most operational experience handling the puppies; namely us, 2 for 2 U----S----A. I mean seriously, even if the Iranians one day decide to get the bomb, so far out intel claims they're not on that path, but who cares, if one day they do get the bomb to counter Israel and Israeli threats against them using nukes, do you really think they got the balls to pull the trigger? I mean seriously the only boys on the planet with the huevos rancheros to incinerate an entire city, TWICE Hommies!!! represent!!!, is your's truly, the lads in red, blue and white spangling all over the place. Yeahhhh!!!!! Because we believe in non-proliferation, unless we have to go war with Russia, China,PAkistan, India to stop them from going nuclear or if we need to back door nuclear technology to our allies to help them cross the finish line; UK, France, Israel.
Amor de Cosmos| 10.11.10 @ 11:57PM
LMAO, thank you for the nickel tour Dr. Strangelove tour. I wish you were nearly as clever as you believe yourself to be.