<p>If Iran develops a nuclear weapon then it would be a game changer because then other countries like Saudi Arabia, Syria, and Turkey would have more pressure on them to also have a nuclear weapon and a nuclear arms race in the Middle East will be very dangerous. Plus it can also fall in the hands of Al-Qaeda and Taliban which would be even more devastating.</p>
<p>More importantly, why is this thread here? :-P</p>
<p>i think joethevpresident has discovered that UT secretly holds the key to create world peace. but UT is just too awesome to share it with anyone. my theory though....</p>
<p>I actually had to represent Iran this weekend in a Model United Nations conference and of course, the Nuclear Program was a pressing issue. </p>
<p>1) It's very hypocritical of the US to try and police the world and who can/cannot have nuclear weapons. The fact of the matter is, the US has the largest collection of nuclear weapons in the world and is also the only country to have ever used a nuclear weapon in warfare. The US really should butt out of this. The only reason we continually are on the lookout for other countries having WMD is not because we fear being attacked but because we fear not being the only superpower in the world. We've gotten so used to being #1 that this issue has more to do with our ego than our safety.</p>
<p>2) There really is no way of stopping Iran from acquiring weapons if it so chooses to do so. The only thing stopping Iran now is the Non-proliferations treaty (NPT) and regular inspections on the part of the UN. However, article X of the NPT states that any member country can back out of the treaty if they so choose without repercussions if extreme circumstances have gotten in the way of their national sovereignty/supreme interest. So basically, if the US or the UN or whoever gets really paranoid and starts badgering Iran even more than it is now, Iran reserves the right to back out of the treaty, go into seclusion and do whatever the **** it wants. </p>
<p>3) I honestly don't believe there will ever be a nuclear war. This is because no country, no matter how corrupt their government (even North Korea) is going to be the first to push the button and fire. So, let's say Iran does acquire weapons. If they did attack the US, they know the US would retaliate and we'd retaliate 10 fold whatever their attack was. So yeah, if they dropped a nuke on one of our major cities like LA or NY for example (just like how we took out Hiroshima and Nagasaki...) we'd simply nuke their entire country and leave no survivers. The Iranian government isn't going to risk that happening and neither is the North Korean government nor Saudia Arabia nor Iraq etc etc.The whole point of acquiring WMDs is not so you can attack others, but to discourage others from ever attacking you.</p>
<p>4) There is little evidence to suggest that Iran even has WMD in the first place. The most recent inspection of their facilities was in November 2008, only a few months ago and they were deemed clean. There have been a few incidents here and there, but overall, Iran has largely been compliant with the restrictions they promised to obey.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>I couldn't agree more.</p>
<p>^^^^^^^^^ yah, immortal technique ~ boo USA</p>
<p>I think the larger issue is that Iran is a state sponsor of terrorism. Letting them have a nuke would endanger the world because the extremists don't care about life. China will be the next super power, but were not trying to hack them down. The US is trying to mend its relationship with China. As for our nukes, many of them have been dismantled due to an agreement between Russia and the US. If it wernt for the damn Russians, countries like Pakistan, India, or North Korea wouldnt have nukes.</p>
<p>the Israelis would take out any facility before a delivery system ever became operational.</p>
<p>I agree with Hippo on this one. When it comes to nuclear weapons I don't think we'll ever see a nuclear war between two nations. People may be irrational, but systems and nation states are rational, and no nation state will risk mutually assured destruction(including countries like Iran and North Korea). Organizations like Al Qaeda, however, might behave differently when it comes to nuclear weapons. When it comes to Iran though, I feel even though Iran might support Al Qaeda, it'll never be crazy enough to give Al Qaeda a nuke and risk mutually assured destruction.</p>