I solved the Iran problem...

[jllundqu]

It seems to me the U.S. is much too fond of the stick and rarely uses the carrot.

If the Mullahs in Iran are hell-bent on attaining nuclear power and not nuclear weapons (as is their claim), why not simply provide them with non-weapons grade uranium? Hell I'll go one further, why not freaking build their nuclear power plants AND provide the uranium to power them?! This would de-escalate the tension, destroy the neo-con argument, and provide a peaceful albeit costly solution to a pressing international problem. The costs could be shared by interested parties, etc. Non-weapons grade unranium can not be used for weapons and would be very difficult to further enrich (to weapons grade) once processed.

This proposal would put the ball in Iran's court and force them to actually disclose their intentions. It would also provide a wonderful opportunity to attain peace in a region that seems as yet unattainable.

[jmdrake]

I'm pretty sure that proposal has already been made. Here's the problem. Iran is dependent on foreign countries refining their oil. They don't want to move into a new world where they are dependent on foreign countries for their refined uranium. It's a sovereignty issue.

[Acala]

I have an easier solution that not only doesn't require us to spend money we don't have building power plants for other people, but would save us hundreds of billions of dollars: mind our own business.

The best thing we can do to de-escalate tension is to butt the hell OUT. Once we are out of the situation, the locals will either resolve their problems or blow each other up. While I hope it is the former, it is NOT my problem if it is the later.

[Brian4Liberty]

Giving Iran something for free without getting something much bigger back in return defeats the whole point. The desire is to profit off of Iran, and to redistribute her wealth into more deserving hands.

[DeMintConservative]

It seems to me the U.S. is much too fond of the stick and rarely uses the carrot.

If the Mullahs in Iran are hell-bent on attaining nuclear power and not nuclear weapons (as is their claim), why not simply provide them with non-weapons grade uranium? Hell I'll go one further, why not freaking build their nuclear power plants AND provide the uranium to power them?!

This proposal would put the ball in Iran's court and force them to actually disclose their intentions. It would also provide a wonderful opportunity to attain peace in a region that seems as yet unattainable.

Well, that was actually proposed by the IAEA 3 years ago and rejected by the Iranian government.

Your conclusion?

[Zippyjuan]

Russia had offered to provide fuel for Iran's nuclear reactor's energy needs. Then they would not need to refine their own.

In my opinion, there are a couple of things going on from Iran's perspective. One- oil is the major source of income for the country and the government. But domestic consumption has risen to the point where they use most of what they produce for their own people (they lack refinery capabilities so they also have to ship the oil to other countries and buy back refined oil products like gasoline). They want nuclear energy to hopefully free up some of that local demand so they can resume exporting more. Second, they see what is going on around them. They want security. A nuclear weapon will give them that security- countries with nuclear weapons do not tend to get attacked. Tensions between India and Pakistan for instance were very high- sometimes breaking out into small wars. Once both tested nuclear weapons, they were more willing to work things out and tensions have lowered and skirmishes nearly disappeared (not completely). As the only nuclear armed Arab country (Israel being the only other nuclear country in the region) they will also have prestige. These are what they are after. Right now, the plan is to delay as much as possible until they are ready to announce they have a weapon ready. I don't think they would be likely to actually use it- they have not been militaristically agressive. They have meddled internally with support of opposition groups in countries (we can't talk on that since we do it all the time) but have not directly attacked anyone.

[Pisces]

Russia had offered to provide fuel for Iran's nuclear reactor's energy needs. Then they would not need to refine their own.

In my opinion, there are a couple of things going on from Iran's perspective. One- oil is the major source of income for the country and the government. But domestic consumption has risen to the point where they use most of what they produce for their own people (they lack refinery capabilities so they also have to ship the oil to other countries and buy back refined oil products like gasoline). They want nuclear energy to hopefully free up some of that local demand so they can resume exporting more. Second, they see what is going on around them. They want security. A nuclear weapon will give them that security- countries with nuclear weapons do not tend to get attacked. Tensions between India and Pakistan for instance were very high- sometimes breaking out into small wars. Once both tested nuclear weapons, they were more willing to work things out and tensions have lowered and skirmishes nearly disappeared (not completely). As the only nuclear armed Arab country (Israel being the only other nuclear country in the region) they will also have prestige. These are what they are after. Right now, the plan is to delay as much as possible until they are ready to announce they have a weapon ready. I don't think they would be likely to actually use it- they have not been militaristically agressive. They have meddled internally with support of opposition groups in countries (we can't talk on that since we do it all the time) but have not directly attacked anyone.

I agree with most of what you said here, except Iran is not an Arab country.

[Number19]

It seems to me the U.S. is much too fond of the stick and rarely uses the carrot.

If the Mullahs in Iran are hell-bent on attaining nuclear power and not nuclear weapons (as is their claim), why not simply provide them with non-weapons grade uranium? Hell I'll go one further, why not freaking build their nuclear power plants AND provide the uranium to power them?! This would de-escalate the tension, destroy the neo-con argument, and provide a peaceful albeit costly solution to a pressing international problem. The costs could be shared by interested parties, etc. Non-weapons grade unranium can not be used for weapons and would be very difficult to further enrich (to weapons grade) once processed.

This proposal would put the ball in Iran's court and force them to actually disclose their intentions. It would also provide a wonderful opportunity to attain peace in a region that seems as yet unattainable.

All available intelligence information indicate Iran is not developing a nuclear weapon. To do so requires enrichment greater than 80% and Iran has enriched only to 20%, the level required for industrial and medical needs. Any attempt to enrich beyond 20% will be known to the intelligence community. Iran is suffering economically from the sanctions and internal pressures from the population are beginning to rise. Plus, Iran has enough 20% enriched uranium for all their industrial needs. These two factors strongly suggest that Iran will begin to put out feelers for a face saving compromise. The big question is whether the U.S. will agree to any compromise or are we committed to regime change. If this is the case, there will be war.

[Carehn]

That is a good idea if it was funded voluntarily. I did not know that it had been tried before.

My proposal would be to free the market in the us to the point it was in the 1800s and then we would not need oil from Iran and they would not have any money. Also we would come home and mind are own crap and let them dish it out on there own over there.

[ClydeCoulter]

I think Iran already attempted the "free market" type strategies, but politics always gets in the way, doesn't it...


one article (during the shah): http://arapaho.nsuok.edu/~OSTCA/iran4.pdf

...
Iran's pursuit of nuclear energy gained more momentum following a study in
1973 carried out by the U.S.-based Stanford Research Institute, which predicted
Iran's need for nuclear energy and recommended the building of nuclear plants capable
of generating 20,000 megawatts of electricity before 1994.^3 Accordingly, plans
were made to construct up to twenty nuclear power stations across the country.
Numerous contracts were signed with various Western companies to build nuclear
power plants and train Iranian nuclear scientists as Western countries competed
with one another in bids on Iran's nuclear projects.
The German firm ICraftwerk Union (a subsidiary of Siemens AG) was awarded
the contract to build two nuclear reactors at Bushehr power plant in 1974 and
started its construction operation in August 1975.'*'' The same year, Iran signed a
contract with a French company (Framatome) to build two 950 megawatt reactors
at Darkhovin, south of the city of Ahvaz.45
An extendible ten-year nuclear fuel contract was concluded with the United
States and France in 1974 and 1975 respectively.''^ Iran also purchased a 10 percent
share in a Eurodif uranium enrichment plant with the possibility of increasing its
share to 15 percent in the coming years.^7
In 1976, Iran expressed its interest in acquiring uranium enrichment technology.
South Africa agreed to supply $700 million of yellowcake to Iran.48 The United
States followed suit. According to National Security Decision Memorandum 292,
dated 22 April 1975, the U.S. President decided to "permit U.S. material to be fabricated
into fuel in Iran for its own reactors and for pass-through to third countries
with whom we have agreement." It also envisaged approving "reprocessing of U.S.
material in a multinational plant in Iran."49
In short, as a 1978 U.S. State Department memo summarized "we have been
encouraged by Iran's efforts to broaden its non-oil energy base. We are hopeful that
the U.S.-Iran Nuclear Energy Agreement will be finalized soon and that American
companies will be able to play a role in Iran's nuclear energy program."^o The shah
of Iran had become the poster boy for the U.S. nuclear industry
...