Operation (Insert Name Here)

Trent Telenko is back on Windsofchange, advocating the invasion of Iran at the moment. It seems he does this every other month or so. What is perhaps different in this piece is this tidbit by StrategyPage:

May 23, 2006: There was another test of the Shahab 3 ballistic missile. This version of the missile, with a range of 2,000 kilometers can reach Southern Europe, as well as Israel. Testing now is mainly for the guidance system. Chinese and Russian technology is believed to have been obtained to build a workable nuclear warhead.

Now, this is quite important, in so far that it means that if Iran does indeed have Russian and Chinese nuclear technology, then the only limiting factor for their program is fissile material. Now if Iran was planning on using its nuke(s) right away, then it makes much more sense for them to try and get the material on the black market. I am sure that enough could be obtained, especially if they were truly desparate. However, I don't think this fits in with Iran's plans. Iran doesn't want a nuke to lob or sneak into Tel Aviv. That isn't enough for the Mullahs. They want a full out program, to act as a deterent, a wall, so that it can carry out a much more aggressive foreign policy. This policy is/will be centered around the displacement of Sunni Islam as the primary sect of Islam by Shi'ite Islam, and more specifically the Khomeinist philosophy that Iran currently follows. In my opinion, this is far more dangerous than the possibility of a nuke or two being lobbed about, because it could easily lead to a global war within Islam that could spiral out of control and destablize much of the world for decades.