Friday, March 18, 2005

Iran's cruise missiles

Oh, great. Like we needed this, on top of Iran's well-understood nuclear ambitions. You just gotta wonder what these people were thinking when they made this deal!

On the bright side, without the revolution in the Ukraine, I seriously doubt we'd have gotten this admission (though one could hope our intelligence services would have ferreted it out).

The AFP's complete story:

LONDON (AFP) - Ukraine admitted that it had exported nuclear-capable cruise missiles to Iran (news - web sites) and China, amid tense diplomatic debate over Tehran's alleged quest for nuclear weaponry.

Eighteen Soviet-era X-55 cruise missiles were exported in 2001 -- 12 to Iran and six to China -- Svyatoslav Piskun, Ukraine's prosecutor general, told the respected London-based Financial Times daily.

Piskun said the missiles were not exported with the nuclear warheads that they were designed to carry.

Nonetheless, both Japan and the United States were worried about what appeared to be a significant leak of military technology, the newspaper reported.

The X-55, an air-launched missile also known as the Kh-55 and AS-15 and first introduced in 1976, has a range of 3,500 kilometers (2,175 miles), which would give China -- or North Korea (news - web sites), if it obtained the missile -- easy access to Japan, while Iran could hit its main regional foe, Israel.

Last month the Ukrainian government opened a criminal inquiry, at the request of Japan, into the illegal sale of 18 missiles by the Ukrspetsexport arms group to unspecified states via Russia.

Reports about the missile sales going to Iran emerged earlier this month.

But Piskun's statement was the first acknowledgment from the Kiev government, and is likely to heighten suspicions about Tehran's nuclear program.

The Islamic republic insists its program is aimed at peaceful civilian use but Washington claims it is designed to produce nuclear arms.

Although the X-55 is designed to carry a nuclear warhead, it can also be loaded with conventional weaponry and would not be Iran's ideal nuclear missile, Doug Richardson, editor of Jane's Missiles and Rockets Magazine, said.

Richardson told AFP the Tehran regime's own Shahab ballistic missile was better suited since it was faster than a cruise missile.

"If they're going to nuclearize a weapon, they're much more likely to do so with one of their ballistic missiles. A ballistic missile, simply because of its sheer speed, is more difficult to defend against than a cruise missile," he said, calling the Shahab "almost unstoppable".

A cruise missile, on the other hand, travels at subsonic speed comparable to that of an airplane, he added.

However, John Eldridge, editor of Jane's Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Defence, told AFP the report was a fresh sign that Iran was seeking "to beef up its offensive capability in the region".

"It's not a piece of news that hints of great stability in the region," he said.

If Iran is seeking to create an offensive nuclear capability, it could either buy complete "off-the-shelf" solutions or acquire both materials such as the X-55 and expertise to create it themselves, Eldridge said.

Currently, "both options appear to be being pursued by the Tehran government", he added.

Ukraine had a massive weapons arsenal after the fall of the Soviet Union, but it returned its nuclear warheads to Russia or destroyed them under a US-funded disarmament program.

Its remaining weaponry remains, however, a source of major concern in the West, fueled by several high-profile cases of arms trafficking including radar technology to Saddam Hussein (news - web sites)'s regime in Iraq (news - web sites).

two anti-aircraft missiles and a launch system were reported stolen last month from a Ukrainian naval base in the Crimean peninsula, while Turkey reported seizing a Ukrainian radio-controlled missile and missile heads en route to Egypt last June.

Enceladus

A new photo-montage from Cassini...

Wolfowitz derangement syndrome

Bush's recent appointment of Paul Wolfowitz to head the World Bank has much of Europe in a tizzy. From what I've read, much of the tizzy stems from Bush's failure to "consult with" (translate: buckle under to) the European shareholders of the bank. Those shareholders are very much in the minority, by the way...not that that matters to the liberal Europhiles over here who are having a sympathy tizzy with the Europeans. Roger Simon nicely tears holes in the tizzy's foundations, and raises some questions of his own. An excerpt:

You would think a Jewish and an Arab intellectual (both quite adult) being romantically involved would be applauded by "progressive" Europe, but I guess not. So what is the reason for their WDS -- Wolfowitz Derangement Syndrome -- other than the usual envy expressed by the ever-bilious British pol Clare Short who is quoted in the same article as saying on their TV: "America is going to do what it likes or hard cheese."

Another article in the Financial Times reports that some Europeans and "development economists" were concerned that Wolfowitz was "ill-suited" for the post, apparently because he wasn't properly educated in their specialty, as if development economics were particle physics or open-heart surgery. It's hard to take that seriously, considering the deputy defense secretary is easily one of the brainiest government officials on either side of the pond.

Ann's rebuttal

Brian Nicols wrestled a gun away from his guard last week and went on a murderous rampage, murdering a judge and three other people. The guard who lost her gun happened to be a 5 foot tall grandmother. Do you think that might have had something to do with Nicols' success? Ann thinks so. Here's an excerpt from her wonderful column, which you really should go read:

How many people have to die before the country stops humoring feminists? Last week, a defendant in a rape case, Brian Nichols, wrested a gun from a female deputy in an Atlanta courthouse and went on a murderous rampage. Liberals have proffered every possible explanation for this breakdown in security except the giant elephant in the room – who undoubtedly has an eating disorder and would appreciate a little support vis-à-vis her negative body image.

The New York Times said the problem was not enough government spending on courthouse security ("Budgets Can Affect Safety Inside Many Courthouses"). Yes, it was tax-cuts-for-the-rich that somehow enabled a 200-pound former linebacker to take a gun from a 5-foot-tall grandmother.

Atlanta court officials dispensed with any spending issues the next time Nichols entered the courtroom when he was escorted by 17 guards and two police helicopters. He looked like P. Diddy showing up for a casual dinner party.

I think I have an idea that would save money and lives: Have large men escort violent criminals. Admittedly, this approach would risk another wave of nausea and vomiting by female professors at Harvard. But there are also advantages to not pretending women are as strong as men, such as fewer dead people. Even a female math professor at Harvard should be able to run the numbers on this one.

Don't miss the rest...

al-Arifi nabbed

Abdullah Nassar al-Arifi has been on the FBI's most-wanted list since 9/11, according to Fox, though I couldn't find him when I went to the FBI's site.

Another one bites the dust!

Quote for the day

Democracy is the art and science of running the circus from the monkey cage.

   H. L. Mencken