again: i don't think there's any evidence that iran is building a bomb, and i don't think that's a left/right issue. it's an empirical question. you don't figure this out by citing bakunin (or adam smith), you figure it out by consulting the people doing the work on the ground, and they're all absolutely adamant: there's no evidence of any weapons program.

i'm not interested in conspiracy theories that rely on covert israeli intelligence, either. the motives behind these conspiracy theories are crystal clear.

so, no - iran does not appear to be building a bomb.

but, i don't actually think this is a choice, like it is here in canada. up in canada, we have reactors online. we sold the technology to india, actually. we really could build them if we wanted to, and really don't want to.

i think the actual reason that iran isn't enriching is that they wouldn't have a fucking clue what to do with the enriched product - it's reflective of how primitive their technological capacity actually is. they might not even be able to store it. their "nuclear program" is really more of a propaganda ploy to stick it to the empire, and try and demonstrate that the revolution has made them powerful. with allah's help, they will control the atom! but, it's just a line of complete bullshit. the west buys into it because it props up the military-industrial complex and keeps an enemy lined up, but iran would be lucky to get a bomb built before 2200. science doesn't tend to do well under totalitarian theocratic rule; that's a general pattern in history. iran doesn't have an actual fucking clue - it's a backwards society, with retarded levels of innovation due to the theocracy snubbing everything out. they kill or imprison all of the smart people.

the saudis are in a similar scenario. they keep buying these advanced weapons systems, and it looks really scary, but the fact is that they need to hire an american military planner to turn any of it on. yes, it's irresponsible to sell this shit to these crazy religious nutcases. but, the sobering reality is that they don't have a fucking clue how to use any of it.

so, i don't want to even have this debate.

but, i wouldn't want to have it, anyways. if iran was enriching, i would actually support their right to do that, in principle. i don't think the empire has any particular authority to come in and say "stop doing this". and, they clearly have some reason to need to defend themselves.

so, they aren't doing it, and i would support their right to do it if they were.

but, i'd still like to overthrow the government there, because it's still particularly brutal, wmds or not, and i'm willing to be pragmatic about finding creative ways to take the mullahs out. if this is how you do it....

this is what happens when you wake up and realize the left has been co-opted by the traditionalist right. so-called left-wing voices are all of a sudden pushing some kind of religiously motivated opposition to war on moral principles, rather than agitating for revolutionary overthrow of capitalist states. it's exactly what the bourgeoisie always dreamed of. and, they're willing to stand with the worst abusers of human rights on the planet. it's positively orwellian. truly.

i don't like aligning with the right, and need to be clear what my differences in operating philosophy are with them. i'm not particularly concerned about wmds in iran at all, actually. but, i have no patience with these groups that stand with the mullahs and the sheikhs by hiding behind these flimsy anti-colonial theories, that are really just rebranded, if somewhat inverted, orientalism.

i'm disenfranchised; the left, overall, is. i know it....