In a somewhat interesting oped published in the Boston Globe, Graham Allison encourages the Bush administration to talk to Iran, rejects the "appeasement" charge, and accuses the Bush administration of "striking out" with its current policy. However, here is where ">Graham Allison's op-ed goes off the rails:
Today, as last month's International Atomic Energy Agency report documents, Iran is operating 3,492 centrifuges in a cascade that has produced 500 pounds of low-enriched uranium. This is one-third of what is required for Iran's first nuclear bomb.
Umm, no. Actually, even if Iran accumulated 1500 pounds of low-enriched uranium -- or even 10 billion tons of low-enriched uranium -- that would still not be enough for "Iran's first nuclear bomb". Because, see, the low-enriched uranium that Iran's centrifuges produce simply cannot be used to make nuclear bombs. You need highly-enriched uranium to make bombs, not low-enriched uranium.
Now would someone explain to me why the "director of the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at the Harvard Kennedy School" doesn't know that -- or is ignoring it?
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