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What About This…? 7.30.2015

By Wayne William Cipriano

It is very early and there is a lot of information for us yet to understand. There is undoubtedly even more information we will never receive.  But I have some quick comments on the Iran Nuclear Deal.

The first is that a deal, just about any deal that restricts or even retards the speed of nuclear research and potential proliferation anywhere in the world, is a good idea.  And things, even valuable things now, have their value considerably reduced once a nuclear weapon is employed anywhere, for any reason.

It is true that a great deal of our security is dependent on nuclear weapons making the United States of America the most powerful military force that has ever existed on Earth, still, if I had a magic lamp that could produce a genie talented enough to render all nuclear weapons on Earth inoperable, I would rub that lamp until it shined.  But, we live here, and we live now, and we must be as practical about today as we may wish to be optimistic about tomorrow.

From what I have heard about the deal with Iran and the many facets that come together to make it flash in the sun of hope, the most important aspect is that of inspections, anywhere, anytime.

Everything I have seen, heard, and read, reveals a very complicated process of inspections should Iran not wish to have a certain place inspected at a certain time.  And, you can see Iran’s point. What country would willingly allow foreigners to go anywhere at any time, supposedly on the trail of agreement violations, possibly hunting other secrets that have nothing to do with said agreement?

But what is the point of a deal between signatories who do not trust each other if there is no way to verify compliance? If one party has to tell when and where they wish to inspect for compliance, and than has to wait for a committee or a process, what are the chances that whatever lack of compliance will still obtain when the inspectors finally arrive?

Sure, it is understandable that sovereign countries do not wish to have their most secret establishments and operations investigated by outsiders. How would we like that? Sure, it is bad that those who sign an agreement trust each other so little that immediate and unrestricted inspections of the components of that deal are, in my opinion, that most important part of it. But, that is where we are.

To my mind, and I suspect to yours, allowing a process by which cheating (nuclear and possibly thermonuclear) can only be detected by inspections held up by lengthy and Byzantine negotiations during which possible cheating can be concealed is, to be respectful, ineffective.

Hasn’t anyone ever heard of laboratories on railroad cars?  In ships?  Now you see it, now you don’t.

Inspections must be anytime, anywhere, Period!