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Description
At a time when international terrorism is the focal point of our concerns, a far more pressing threat has arisen to the balance of power in the world and ultimately to the security of our country. Since the Islamic Republic of Iran admitted, just two years ago, that it was secretly producing highly enriched, weapons-grade uranium, leading nations have struggled to react in an appropriate manner. In this book, the U.S. public is able to learn, in full detail and for the first time, exactly what the Europeans and UN have been trying to forestall. In Iran we see a country, located at the center of the Middle East, which could very shortly have the ability to strike its immediate neighbors and nations farther away with nuclear weapons. With the innate size to dominate its region, Iran is also a country with an avowed mission to export it's theocratic principles, and a nation which has, over the past 25 years, been a notorious supporter of terrorist organizations. Its parallel development of atomic bombs comprises the greatest threat that we have seen in the new millennium. In Iran's Nuclear Option, defense expert Al J. Venter details the extent to which Iran's weapons program has developed, and the clandestine manner in which its nuclear technology has been acquired. He demonstrates how Tehran has violated the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and details the involvement of several countries who have been shown by the IAEA to have trafficked in illegal nuclear materials. He proves, for the first time, a direct link between the now-defunct South African apartheid regime's nuclear program and Tehran's current nuclear ambitions. Venter digs deep into ancillary subjects, such as Iran'sfervor on behalf of Shiite Islam, its missile program-developed alongside its nuclear one-and the role of the Pasdaran (Revolutionary Guards), whose tentacles have spread throughout the Middle East and increasingly further afield. While noting Tehran's support of terrorist groups such as Hizbollah, Venter follows closely how the Persian homeland itself has progressed toward a strategic nuclear capability that would make recent terrorist attacks look obsolete. Iran's Nuclear Option is essential reading for anyone with an interest in global security and the perilous volatility of the Middle East. It also comprises an indicator for America's own options, should it be willing to counter the threat while time remains, in favor of world peace rather than greater global instability. REVIEWS "the place to turn for technical details and footnoted references...offers the most systematic exposition to date about Iran's nuclear program and its role in world affairs..." Middle East Quarterly, Winter 2006 .,."of great interest to anyone watching the current nuclear proliferation problem..."Parameters, Spring 2006 .,."a chilling insight into the scope and sophistication of Iran's concerted, multi-decade quest for the atomic bomb... a sobering blow by blow account of how Tehran managed diplomatically to stall, mislead and confound the IAEA..."The National Interest 06/2005 "an outstanding survey of the threats the present Iranian regime poses to the world. One of this books great strengths is how carefully Venter documents Iran's efforts to obtain parts and personnel for weapons building....shows clearly and convincingly why stopping Iran's nuclear program is a cardinal interest notonly for any particular state, but for humanity as a whole."Jerusalem Political Studies Review, Fall 2005
