This is goddamn scary, Leon Panetta is locked and loaded to go to war with Iran already, and the language is eerily similar to the language that got us into Iraq. Panetta says Iran is 1 year off of developing a nuke and that we will do whatever necessary to stop it. We will soon see who is really pulling the strings, and i suspect Panetta and the military will get their wish.m Watch the start of this video and the interview with Scott Pelley and Leon Panetta.
The same day's CBS Evening News relayed Defense Secretary Panetta warning that Iran could have a nuclear weapon within a year:
SCOTT PELLEY: The Secretary of Defense says tonight that the United States will not allow Iran to build a nuclear weapon. In an interview with CBS News, Leon Panetta says that, despite efforts to disrupt their nuclear program, the Iranians have reached a point where they can assemble a bomb in a year or potentially less. ...
Panetta told us that Iran needs only one year to build a nuclear weapon.
So are you saying that Iran could have a nuclear weapon in 2012?
LEON PANETTA, DEFENSE SECRETARY: It would be, you know, sometime around the year that they would be able to do it, perhaps a little less. The one proviso, Scott, is if they have a hidden facility somewhere in Iran that may be enriching fuel. (hidden nuclear facilities we dont know about.... Does this Sound familiar?)
PELLEY: So that they could develop a weapon even more quickly than we believe?
PANETTA: And faster, that's correct.
The Defense Secretary soon hinted at the possibility of a military strike by the United States:
PANETTA: If they proceed and we get intelligence that they're proceeding with developing a nuclear weapon, then we will take whatever steps are necessary to stop them.
PELLEY: Including military steps.
PANETTA: There are no options that are off the table.
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The same day's CBS Evening News relayed Defense Secretary Panetta warning that Iran could have a nuclear weapon within a year:
SCOTT PELLEY: The Secretary of Defense says tonight that the United States will not allow Iran to build a nuclear weapon. In an interview with CBS News, Leon Panetta says that, despite efforts to disrupt their nuclear program, the Iranians have reached a point where they can assemble a bomb in a year or potentially less. ...
Panetta told us that Iran needs only one year to build a nuclear weapon.
So are you saying that Iran could have a nuclear weapon in 2012?
LEON PANETTA, DEFENSE SECRETARY: It would be, you know, sometime around the year that they would be able to do it, perhaps a little less. The one proviso, Scott, is if they have a hidden facility somewhere in Iran that may be enriching fuel. (hidden nuclear facilities we dont know about.... Does this Sound familiar?)
PELLEY: So that they could develop a weapon even more quickly than we believe?
PANETTA: And faster, that's correct.
The Defense Secretary soon hinted at the possibility of a military strike by the United States:
PANETTA: If they proceed and we get intelligence that they're proceeding with developing a nuclear weapon, then we will take whatever steps are necessary to stop them.
PELLEY: Including military steps.
PANETTA: There are no options that are off the table.
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