Carol Giacomo, "An Unsettling Report on Iran and North Korea": Wearing Her Naivete on Her Sleeve

In a New York Times "Taking Note" opinion piece entitled "An Unsettling Report on Iran and North Korea," Carol Giacomo, a member of the Times's editorial board, examines a recent report that "North Korean nuclear and missile experts visited a military site near Tehran in April." Giacomo begins by questioning the veracity of the information:

"There are reasons to doubt the report. The Iranian embassy in Paris has already repudiated it. It was based on information from the National Council of Resistance of Iran, which has spent years working to undermine the Iranian republic. Although the group’s disclosure in 2002 about Iran’s uranium enrichment plant at Natanz was accurate, its track record overall has been spotty."

Of course, if the Iranian embassy in Paris denied the report, it must be wrong . . . not. For example, as reported by the Institute for Science and International Security, the Fordow fuel enrichment plant was "publicly revealed by U.S. President Barack Obama, French President Nicolas Sarkozy, and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown in September 2009, shortly after these nations presented evidence of the facility to the International Atomic Energy Agency."

Giacomo's conclusion:

"Such cooperation would belie Tehran’s insistence that it is not pursuing a nuclear weapon and would necessarily blow up any nuclear agreement. But even if a nuclear deal is reached, the major powers will need to watch vigilantly to make sure that Iran doesn’t switch from developing the technology that could enable it to produce a bomb to buying one from North Korea."

Giacomo is concerned that Iran could "switch from developing the technology that could enable it to produce a bomb to buying one from North Korea"? For Pete's sake, none other than President Obama acknowledged in April 2015 that Iran's "breakout times are only about two to three months by our intelligence estimates." Or stated otherwise, Iran doesn't need to buy an atomic bomb from North Korea. On the other hand, Iran could certainly continue developing its first nuclear weapon and ballistic missile delivery capabilities in North Korea without fear of Western surveillance or interference.

Go back to sleep, Carol, before you hurt yourself.