Check out ThinkProgress; hopefully that’ll make you feel better. 😉 (There was also something specific about Rademaker being shall we say less than credible, but I forget where I read it.)

http://thinkprogress.org/2006/04/12/the-facts-about-irans-uranium-enrichment/

Who watches the watchers?

Well, Brad, you know we’d love to do that, but our numbers are so much better going with the war on Easter.

Better demo.

“OK, press corps. We need your help. We need you to critically evaluate these claims. For fuck’s sake, the fate of the country depends on it. Do your fucking jobs.”

Should we also clap our hands real hard so the fairies will help us?

That’s funny…all the experts I’ve heard on the radio (BBC and NPR) say they’re at least 5 years away.

Okay, when I say that’s funny, I mean, that’s not so much funny as really quite frightening but unsurprising.

This is a classic con.

You can be 16 days away from having enough nuclear material to make a bomb, but that does not have anything to do with how far away you are from making a bomb.

For example, I’m probably less than a day away from getting all of the pure hydrogen needed to make an H-bomb, but that doesn’t mean that I’m any closer to making the bomb.

Look up nuclear fizzle for more info. I’ll have more on this later.

Well, god only knows what the “Press Corps” will do, but Thinkprogress is already all over the debunkification.

Let’s hope the truth will overcome the truthiness.

As of right now, they have 168 centrifuges. Leaves them 53,832 short. They also only reached 3.8 percent enrichment, far short of the bare minimum of 80 percent needed for a viable bomb.

OK, press corps. We need your help. We need you to critically evaluate these claims. For fuck’s sake, the fate of the country depends on it. Do your fucking jobs.

Don’t hold your breath waiting on them, Brad–you’ll suffocate!

ohhh….nutz!!

Theres an old saying in Texas..fool me once uh shame on me..get fooled…won’t get fooled again.

Or something like that.

Dude – this is jsut so goddamn ridiculous. We can only hope that the corporate masters who run the media realize that a lot of their investments will be in jeopardy with these clowns trying to pull this shit again. If enough of them figure they stand to lose money on this one, they’ll pull the plug.

I hope.

Apparently the left is lining up behind Iran now

Mikefromtexas is right on the numbers. They don’t have anywhere near enough centrifuges to make enough materials for a nuclear weapon. And the uranium needs to be of a certain quality level. It takes a while to make. Also, having the uranium’s only one piece of the puzzle.

David Albright, armscontrolwonk.com, Oxford Research Group and the Carnegie Endowment for Peace all have good information on this.

I’ll try to post some links here tomorrow.

Look–they’re ten years away from having a nuclear weapon. The only way to dissuade them from pursuing this folly is to bomb them now. With nuclear weapons.

See how it works? ‘Cause nuclear weapons are bad. I mean, brown people having nuclear weapons are bad. Except Indians and Pakistanis. That’s bad, but not bomb-ably bad.

I guess what I’m trying to say is that war gives me a boner.

Yeah, we’re cheering for Iran. We’re not cheering for, say, not getting into WWIII.

Goddammit I hate when Billmon is right…

Heck, one opinion’s as good as another, right? Fair and balanced. I think Iran is 16 minutes from having nuclear weapons. Don’t leave out my point of view.

Good god.

I thought it was astounding when the Republicans wanted us to forget what they did in the Clinton administration.

Now they wanted us to forget what they did during the Iraq War!

I mean, why on earth are people dumb enough to fall for this?! It’s EXACTLY the same shit as last time! EXACTLY!

I certainly am “lining up behind Iran” in this instance.

If my choices are between an old fashioned dictatorial theocracy and Commander Coo Coo Bananas I choose the fanatics – at least they’re predictable.

“Apparently the left is lining up behind Iran now…”

No, Gary, it’s lining up against the likes of you. Entirely different.

Apparently the left is lining up behind Iran now

Yup. The reach-around is forthcoming, rest assured, Gary.

I’ll be the first to say the government of Iran is made up of assholes even worse than anything we’ve ever had in the States (so far, though not from lack of effort), and they have been rattling the sabers toward Israel (for the last 25 years, actually…), but I’ve say it once and I’ll say it again:
THERE WILL NOT BE A NUCLEAR WAR, NOR WILL THERE BE IRAN-PRECIPITATED NUCLEAR TERRORISM.

Iran isn’t stupid- their government may have more than it’s share of crazy fundies, but they have a sense of self preservation that is pretty powerful. In other words, they are typical politicians. They will not launch nukes at Israel, because we’ve made it known that we will reduce Iran to so much glass if they do, and they won’t give it to a terrorist group… because we’ll reduce their country to so much glass if they do.
There is no way that we won’t figure out where a backpack nuke comes from eventually, and even if it isn’t primarily Iran’s fault, they make a convinient blame subject (see: Iraq + WTC/Pentagon Attacks + Second Gulf War) which they are well aware, so it behooves them to “keep it in their pants”, as it were.
While their potential possession of tactical warheads is a mostly-effective deterrent factor, to use them offensively either themselves or through proxies is actively suicidal, which runs highly counter to the politician’s innate sense of self- and power- preservation. There is simply no sane reason for even fundamentalist Islamists to attack us with a nuke. Such an attack would be a mere bitchslap compared to what a single American ICBM could do to Iran. The cost-benefit math is not adding up.
Incidentally, this is one of the same reason I don’t believe Bush’s threat to use nukes preemptively is credible- the American public won’t like the inevitable heavy civillian casualties even the judicious deployment of a nuke would cause, even if they’re “Muslamic terrorist killers global supporters”. Nukes look really bad in the PR department, and given that the support for Iraq is in the toilet, they would have to be utterly insane to provoke an Iranian invasion of Iraq, which could only result in a few thousand casualties and prolonged active-combat commitment which we cannot logistically support (as the Pentagon guys are telling Bush).
My gut tells me that this is no more or less a posturing ultimatum- and a very hamfisted one at that. I still think it’s a stupid move, of course, but I’m unconvinced that they would actually do it (though I have been wrong… from time to time).
I’ve already promised to eat my hat (with au jus and some bourbon, I should think) should I prove wrong, though in case of nuclear holocaust, I will likely have to eat it anyway in order to prolong my survival.

That is to say “provoke a potential Iranian invasion of Iraq.”

I’m approximately four minutes away from having run a four minute mile, if I could run a four minute mile.

Don’t forget though, after we nuke their country they’ll rise up in gratitude and overthrow the democratically-elected dictators who oppress them. Candy and flowers for us all, I tell ya!

Didn’t Iran invade Iraq? Wasn’t the international community upset by that? Bomb ’em!

They not only have nukulur weapons, they’ve used them on the US sixteen times! Don’t you people remember Old New York and the Post Coital Tower?

‘Apparently the left is lining up behind Iran now.’
– The Gare Bear

Trying to shut down the conversation by accusing us of supporting the Iranian mullahs? Wow! A new and entirely unexpected tactic by the Right. I’m floored!

But, more to the point, I want you and other conservatives to like and approve of me, Gary, so I never, ever will criticize the president again.

I will take everything he says at face value because he’s a straight shooter, and a man’s man. Not to mention a brilliant tactician and commander.

Besides, he’s been so forthright in other intelligence and national security matters, how could anyone NOT trust him? To do otherwise would be treason!

Shorter dawg: STFU, Gary. Go choke off with your Michael Savage posters and leave thinking people alone. XXOO

I suspect that this whole nuclear sabre-rattilng we’re currently engaging in is to help justify the air strikes we’re definitely planning for Iran and the ground invasion that a lot of the more insane military types and neocons are desperately trying to talk the Administration into.

This way, the spin in the media will be “Thank God we’re dropping traditional ordnance on Iran! America should be grateful for it, and so should Iran. This shows what a wise, clear and calm thinker Our President is – when all around him urged him to launch a preemptive nuclear offensive, Our President showed wisdom and restraint by only sending several squadrons of non-nuclear bombers to pummel them.”

But then again, I have been accused of being overly optimistic in the past.

And as far as “making a nuclear bomb” goes….I could make one in a couple of weeks, if I wanted to. Unenriched uranium can be purchased from chemcical supply houses, if you’ve got a legitimate reason for getting it, crude centrifuging to enrich it isn’t all that hard to do, and then it’s just a matter of building a casing with an explosive timer on it.

There are websites around that will show you how to do it – although I wouldn’t really recommend looking any of them up anymore.

To be fair, a homemade device like this is crude and really useless for a military attack – it’s basically just a step up from the “suitcase nuke” the administration is always getting the vapors over. But strictly speaking, it IS a “nuclear bomb” – and therefore it is strictly true that Iran could make a nuclear bomb within sixteen days.

Just like it was strictly true that Bill Clinton did not have sexual relations with that woman.

This way, the spin in the media will be “Thank God we’re dropping traditional ordnance on Iran! America should be grateful for it, and so should Iran. This shows what a wise, clear and calm thinker Our President is – when all around him urged him to launch a preemptive nuclear offensive, Our President showed wisdom and restraint by only sending several squadrons of non-nuclear bombers to pummel them.”

You stole that right out of my head, didn’t you? I expect to see a royalty check from you soon.

This is just all so much saber-rattling on that parts of both parties.

Iran: “haha we have teh bomb, bitches!�
US: “were gonna nuke u and kick all ure ass�
Iran: “not with ure hole army in iraq, u wont. u’ll piss of the wrld if you attack us after iraq LOL1!!1! and your dad wuz a pussy�
US: “don’t insult my dad!�
Iran: “comeon, attack. Use ur big scary nukes on us. If theres anything left of iran, it will be run be islamists like we want.
US: “don’t insult my dad!!!!!�
Iran: “fuck u, u winy whores. we got teh bomb. we are the bomb, were soooo cool. stop us.�
US: “at the monkey bars. Three o’clock. Come alone you pansy�

How come the Iranian guy sounds a lot like Triumph the Insult Comic? LOL

Monkey Testicle,

How come the Iranian guy sounds a lot like Triumph the Insult Comic? LOL

“Iran isn’t stupid- their government may have more than it’s share of crazy fundies, but they have a sense of self preservation that is pretty powerful.”

GG, replace “Iran” with “Iraq” and “their government” with “Saddam,” and that same sentence was being repeated frequently during late 2002/beginning of 2003. If Bush decides he wants to launch nukes, he’ll do so, no matter what the Iranians do, and no matter what the American people think.

A case is being manufactured as we type.

Well, get it over with. The sooner we get to “Imperial Overstretch” the better off we’ll all be.

Had I a tattoo gun and access to horse tranquilizers, this would show up by tomorrow on the foreheads of every major newspaper editor and television news anchor.

Backwards, so it could be read in the mirror.

A case is being manufactured as we type.

We shall see… we shall see.

Well ever since Glenn Beck renamed it the Butterfly BombButterfly Bomb

You know, this may very well simply be sabre-rattling. But I can pretty easily see a scenario where Bush would go ahead and do it because *not* doing so after he said he might would make him look weak.

Apparently the left is lining up behind Iran now

Aw, c’mon, Gary… you’re not even trying, are you?

D. Sidhe: Your scenario is the one that really frightens me.

And has everyone noticed what North Korea is doing today? It’s shaping up to be a perfect (shit)storm for Dubya. Good-bye Planet Earth. I hope your next dominant species is smarter than we were.

the right sold weapons to Iran in the 1980s

saying that Iran is 16 days from having all the nuclear material needed to make a bomb is like me saying that I can get enough pseudoephedrine to make a kilo of meth in one day.

Apparently the left is planning a terrorist attack on America.

Yep, we’re going to blast terrorists out of enormous carnival cannons at the Statue of Liberty AND the everglades! Take that, you bronze bimbo! Eat terrorist, alligators! Oh, wait a sec, we might need to rethink our dastardly plot…

So why does that guy Gary comment here again?

From the Field Guide to Sadly, No! Commenters:

Gary Ruppert: Troll who posts the Bushie Party Line (i.e., “THE TERRISTS IS COMING TO KILL US ALL OMFG!!!!11!1!! and if you dissent from Administration policy, YOU’RE ON THEIR SIDE!!!1!”) on every issue from Afghanistan to zygotes.

Gay Ruppert: Anonymous poster who spoofs Gary.

Editors’ Notes: Gary Ruppert is quaint and amusing, in a mean-spirited, intellectually challenged sort of way (though lately he really has just been phoning it in). Gay Ruppert’s commentary is really kind of pointless, since there is no way to out-Gary Gary.

I am going to agree with you overall Dan, but I have to admit that Apparently the left is planning a terrorist attack on America really did make me laugh.

the left is planning to flouridate our water!
-Gary ruprect

It’s true- Gary lacks the absurd pseudoreligious zeal of Marie, the absolute and utter removal from reality of the neo-Nazis (oh, those were the days!) or the generally amiable song-pimping of the Doc, but I’m sure he’ll find his way into our hearts eventually.

[…]but I’m sure he’ll find his way into our hearts eventually.

He could get there instantly… by EATING IT, COBAG!!1!!!11eleventy-one!