Waging Peace, Page 63

Iran Not a Nuclear Threat to the U.S. Homeland, Thielmann Declares

Greg Thielmann discusses nuclear weapons issues in Des Moines on Nov. 12. (Photo M. Gillespie)

RETIRED STATE Department intelligence official Greg Thielmann delivered a lecture titled “Russia, Iran, the United States, and a World Without Nuclear Weapons” at Grace United Methodist Church in Des Moines, Iowa on Nov. 12.

“Neither North Korea nor Iran threatens the U.S. homeland,” he declared. “Even worst-case scenarios posit only a few very vulnerable intercontinental ballistic missiles in these states by the end of the next decade. Such contingencies would have no appreciable impact on the required size of the U.S. strategic nuclear arsenal.”

Thielmann, a senior fellow at the Arms Control Association, garnered national attention in 2003 when, after retiring as director of the Strategic, Proliferation and Military Affairs Office in the Department of State’s Bureau of Intelligence and Research in September 2002, he exposed and criticized the Bush administration’s distortions of intelligence to build a case for war against Iraq. Thielmann has described “a series of exaggerated and alarmist reports” put out by former President George W. Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney, and then-National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice as “a crime against the American people.”

During the question-and-answer period following Thielmann’s formal remarks, this reporter asked a question about Israel’s nuclear arsenal.

“In terms of our non-proliferation objectives in the Middle East and elsewhere, we are perceived as being hypocritical,” he replied. “You can hear American politicians say, ”˜We’ve got to make sure that nuclear weapons are not introduced into the Middle East.’ This makes the jaws drop from Cairo to Pakistan. You see this all the time, but we’re completely blind to it. Yes, the Israeli government doesn’t admit that they have nuclear weapons; they don’t deny that they have nuclear weapons. But they have nuclear weapons, and they have more nuclear weapons than North Korea, more nuclear weapons than Pakistan, and that’s a lot. We’re getting to the point that they may have more nuclear weapons than Britain. So, it’s something that needs to be dealt with.”

In response to another question, Thielmann pointed out that Iran is constantly threatened by the U.S. and Israel, which have large nuclear arsenals.

“Our trick now is to convince the Iranians that they do not need nuclear weapons to protect themselves,” he argued. “It is my personal view that saying, ”˜Well, we’re going to have to attack Iran by the end of the year,’ is not a way to convince Iran it should not develop nuclear weapons.”

The event was sponsored by Catholic Peace Ministry, Physicians for Social Responsibility, American Friends Service Committee, Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom, Iowans for Diplomacy with Iran, and Grace United Church and Society Committee.

—Michael Gillespie