"Powell partially confirmed claims by an Iranian opposition group that Tehran is deceiving the United Nations and is attempting to secretly continue activities meant to give it atomic arms by next year."
If he's correct:
Pre-emptive war as a deterrent doesn't work.
I've said this from the beginning - going to Iraq pre-emptively would cause nations to do one of two things.
1. Stop nuclear programmes and state-supported terrorism, on the belief that America "means business" when it comes to pre-emptive strikes on real (or supposed) threats.
2. Get a nuclear missile/bomb within 18 months. Knowing that the US military was tied up in Iraq and Afghanistan, if I was the ruler of an "axis of evil" nation, I'd do whatever I could to get nuclear, because I might be next on the list, but I'm certainly not a parallel activity.
If he's wrong:
U.S. Intelligence is still in the toilet, and they can't be trusted for anything, including domestic terrorism protection.
The worst thing is, we can't get help because we cried wolf about Iraq, and like L-Hack said, we can't handle Iran alone under the current circumstances.
The result:
If Iran has nuclear weapons and US policy stays constant
1. Iran gets a nuclear weapon. Personally, I don't think it's that big of a deal. Sure, they have all that "Great Satan" rhetoric, but who are they going to use it against. They're a heck of a lot more stable than Pakistan, who's in an active war with India, but they didn't use their nuclear device. If you think it's because India has nuclear weapons also, that only bolsters my argument. By that logic, Iran won't launch on Israel or the U.S.
If Iran has/does not have nuclear weapons and US policy changes.
Say hello to our largest partner in the War on Islam...I mean War on Terror. Welcome, China!!! It's not like they aren't bankrolling us already, but just think about how much more in debt we'll have to go to finance a war effort in Iran. They'll be like Mr. Potter in It's a Wonderful Life, when everyone is in a panic and selling, they'll be buying, and when it's all over, they'll own the American economy. Of course, a hands-off policy on Taiwan will be the first request...I mean demand. Who knows what else?
Of course, someone is going to have to fight in this war. I guess traffic in my area should go down, with all the young people in my area, those new high school and college graduates will be commuting to work on the Tehran Belt-line everyday instead of I-40. This is nuts, you think, this was hype to try to get the Democrats in office. There's a little truth in every lie and rumor, and it will start slowly - first doctors and nurses, then computer technologists, then police officers, and the next thing you know, we'll have had a draft, and no one will have realized it until it was too late.