IS JIMMAH CONCERNED ABOUT THIS? – AT 7:14 A.M. ET:  Maybe Jimmah Carter can ease his distress (see post just below) by taking on the Iranian nuclear program.  Of course, he'd probably reply, "What nuclear program?"  Apparently, it's up and running.  From Reuters:

Iran has enriched 17 kg of uranium to 20 percent purity, a top official said on Wednesday, underscoring Tehran's determination to push ahead with its nuclear program despite new international sanctions.

Iran's enrichment activities are at the heart of its standoff with the West which fears it is seeking nuclear weapons capability. Two weeks ago, the United Nations Security Council agreed to impose a fourth round of sanctions on Iran.

Iran started refining uranium to 20 percent purity -- up from around 5 percent -- in February, saying it aimed to make fuel for a medical research reactor.

The move -- a significant step towards making weapons-grade uranium, which is 90 percent enriched -- has alarmed the West.

Iran says its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes and primarily aimed at electricity generation.

"We have already produced 17 kg of 20 percent enriched uranium, and we have the ability to produce 5 kg each month but we do not rush," Ali Akbar Salehi, head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization, was quoted as saying by the ISNA news agency...

...Mark Fitzpatrick, senior fellow for non-proliferation at the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London told Reuters that around 200 kg of 20 percent enriched uranium, if further enriched, would be required to make a nuclear bomb.

COMMENT:  The claim cannot be verified, but the statement is one of defiance, and statements like that in the past have accurately predicted Iran's ignoring of sanctions.  There is no reason to believe that the lastest set, voted by the UN, will result in any success. 

And when Iran gets the bomb?  Well, Obama can blame it on Bush and Cheney.  But now he can introduce a new scapegoat:  McCHRYSTAL (!!!!).  "He distracted me.  I was working on the problem, and would've turned Iran into an ally, but that general, he took all my energy."

And some would believe that.

June 23, 2010