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The Weekly Standard
March 2, 2012
In recent days and months, some senior administration officials have a drawn a “red line” against Iranian “development of a nuclear weapon,” while others have stated the intention is to prevent Iran achieving “nuclear weapons capability.” The difference in language is significant, so the confusion is potentially dangerous. The more provable and preventable nuclear threshold is Iranian weapons capability.
If the administration’s intent is to prevent a nuclear Iran, it should draw a red line that is clear, verifiable and preventable before it is too late. The red line should be nuclear weapons capability, not the imperceptible turning of the screwdriver to assemble a weapon.