Open Source Intelligence of Iran’s Nuclear Program

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Table of Contents

Introduction
Non-state Actors and Terrorism
Iran Nuclear Weapons and Star Wars
Farewell to Weapons of Mass Destruction
Worldwide Threat Assessment
The New Somali Prime Minister
Bibliography
Footnotes

Introduction

The Iran’s nuclear program has attracted heated debates in the United States, and other parts of the world as analysts try to determine its real impact on world peace program. Since the end of the Second World War, there have been efforts to promote disarmament programs in major powers in the world.

The United States and the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republic made efforts to scale down the volume of their weapons as a way of promoting peace in the world. However, individual states have continued with their armament programs, albeit in secrecy.

Recently, a state owned Russian media station claimed that Russia had the capacity to reduce the entire United States into a radioactive ash. This statement was a strong indication that Russia has been amassing weapons of mass destruction for the past several years. Iran is another nation that has been keen on developing nuclear weapons.¹ North Korea and Pakistan have also engaged in activities which strongly indicate that they are building weapons of mass destruction, based on the reports of major media stations in the world.

It is important to analyze the allegations made by these sources to determine the truth. In this report, the focus will be to collect data from open sources about different targets of these weapons of mass destruction developed by different nations.

Non-state Actors and Terrorism

The open resource intelligence by Blum² focuses on the weapon of mass destruction in the hands of non-state actors. The world is rapidly changing, and the enemy is assuming an amorphous form, making it difficult for the targets to fight it properly. The non-state actors have assumed the form of terrorists that are determined to bring the United States of America down from its glory as the major world power.

According to these scholars, this new face is something that the United States’ government had not prepared for when planning its defense against the known enemies. During the two world wars, the enemies were known, and the battle fronts were clearly defined. During the Great American Revolution, the warring factions were clearly defined, and the battlefields were known to all the players.

During the Cold War, Russia was seen as an enemy of the United States. However, this new approach that has taken the form of terrorism is strange and difficult to fight.

The exact location of these terrorists is not known, making it difficult to wage proper war against them. The report by these scholars emphasize on the fact that these terrorist groups thrive well in politically unstable countries such as Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Somalia. The scholars note that the target for these groups is the United States of America.

In order to validate their arguments, they analyze activities of these groups over the years, especially after the Second World War. In Saudi Arabia, amorphous religious groups demanded the departure of all Americans and their companies from the country in the late 1970s and early 1980s.In Pakistan and Afghanistan, American embassies have been under constant attacks from the al Qaeda loyalists since late1980s.

On September 11, 2001, the Pentagon and the World Trade Center came under attack from the al Qaeda, a plan developed and executed under the leadership of Osama bin Laden.

Critical analysis of this document reveals that the scholars involved were not biased in their report. Their arguments were purely based on the attacks that have taken place, statements from the leaders of these terrorist groups, and various government reports on these activities. This makes it a highly valid and reliable document when analyzing the activities of the terrorists.

Iran Nuclear Weapons and Star Wars

The report by Morton ³ focuses on the Iran Nuclear weapons, and the possibility of this bringing back the Star Wars. According to this open source intelligence, Iran is developing nuclear weapons at a rate that had not been anticipated by the world powers. Attempts by the United States to stop this country from developing nuclear bomb have turned it to be the target of these weapons.

Unlike the amorphous groups such as the al Qaeda with no clearly defined geographic location, this is a sovereign state with structures and a clear ambition to become one of the world’s powers. This report shows that although Iran may have some enemies within the region, the ultimate enemy of this country has always been the United States.

The economic sanctions placed over it by the United States only deepened the conflict between the two countries. Efforts by specific countries to target the United States did not start with Iran’s development of nuclear war.

The past regimes in the United States have been struggling to find ways through which the country can be protected from external aggressors who may play using weapons of mass destruction against the country. In response to this, the Reagan’s government developed and SDI program (Strategic Defense Initiative) that was supposed to develop a defense mechanism for the country against weapons of mass destruction.

This resulted into the development of ABM (Anti-ballistic missile) defense program. However, the United States still remains vulnerable to these external aggressors, and it is the responsibility of the homeland security to find the best ways through which the country and its citizens can be protected from nuclear aggressions.

The open source document by Morton holds some facts that should be addressed by the homeland security. However, a few contradictions have been witnessed in this report that makes its validity questionable.

For instance, the author argues that Iran’s attempt to develop nuclear weapons went against the peace pact between NATO and War Saw Pact. However, he also appreciates that the United States has successfully developed nuclear weapons.

The question that many would be asking is why the America’s move to develop such weapons has not been viewed to be going against the pact. Being an American, this bias from the author is easily understandable.

Farewell to Weapons of Mass Destruction

According to a report by Enemark⁴, the world should be working on ways of eliminating weapons of mass destruction as a way of promoting peace. The term ‘weapons of mass destruction’ was first used in 1945 when the then United States President, Harry Truman, met with other world leaders to find ways of bringing peace in the world.

When it was used at this time, the focus was to identify weapons that posed a threat to the masses when used such as the atomic, nuclear, or biological weapons with the view of limiting or eliminating their use in order to promote peace in the world. However, what transpired during the cold war was completely the opposite of what these statesmen aimed at achieving.

Countries have been amassing weapons of mass destruction. At first, the competition was between the Union of Soviet Socialist Republic and the United States. However, countries such as China, Iran, North Korean, Syria, and many others have joined in this competition.

However, it is necessary to note that security can only be achieved if we fight against these weapons. The target for most of these countries remains the United States because it is viewed as the only superpower that should be dislodged from this position.

Christian Enemark is an American security analyst who has worked for the US Army War College. Although this fact may make his report questionable, it is clear that he made efforts to avoid any form of biases. His report also focused on downsizing the weapons of mass destruction by all countries.

Worldwide Threat Assessment

The report by Clapper⁵ focuses on the worldwide threat posed by organized terrorist groups and governments around the world that operates in close coordination with these terrorist groups. In the Middle East, groups such as Islamist Jihad, Hamas, Hezbollah, and al Qaeda have been engaging in terrorist activities around the world. In Africa, the al Shabab is causing havoc in the Indian Ocean and various African nations.

Other organized groups are also operating in various parts of the world. Some of these groups have taken the political nature and are currently in the government of various countries in the Middle East. Some of these regional affiliates are expanding their targets. For instance, the al Qaeda affiliates in Africa, the al Shabab, is currently targeting countries seen to be close to the United States such as Kenya and Ethiopia.

They attacked U.S. embassy in the country and other institutions considered sympathizers of the West. These attacks spread to various Arab nations in the Middle East and parts of Africa.

In 1998, American embassies in Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania were bombed by al Qaeda, a plan that was executed by its military wing headed by the late Osama bin Laden. This is a clear indication that terrorism is no longer an issue of the United States. The entire world is currently under attack.

The validity of this report is above board because it has been based on the events that have been taking place in various parts of the world. The information it has compiled is readily available in other sources.

The New Somali Prime Minister

According to the report by Ali⁶, Somalia has been a lawless country for close to two decades. The country has been in the hands of the militias that have been operating in major urban centers. It is home to the al Shabab, a dreaded terrorist group that has been responsible for sea piracy in the Indian Ocean. The country has been a strategic location for the terrorist groups because of lack of a clear government.

The election of the new prime minister who is pro-West has been a major milestone in promoting peace in the region and in eliminating anti-American terrorists that have been operating in the country. It is also seen as a move that would promote security in the entire eastern part of Africa.

The document has avoided controversial reports made by other scholars in order to improve on its reliability and acceptability among scholars and other relevant users.

Bibliography

Ali, Mohamed. “Cautious Welcome For New Prime Minister.” Open Source Center 6, no. 30 (2011): 1-5.

Blum, Andrew, Asal Victor, and Wlkenfeld Jonathan. “Nonstate Actors, Terrorism, and Weapons of Mass Destruction.” International Studies Review 7, no. 1 (2005): 133-170.

Clapper, James. Statement for the Record on the Worldwide Threat Assessment of the U.S. Intelligence Community for the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. New York: US National Intelligence, 2011.

Enemark, Christian. “Farewell to WMD: The Language and Science of Mass Destruction.” Contemporary Security Policy 32, no. 2 (2011): 382–400.

GAO. “Homeland Defense: Steps Have Been Taken to Improve U.S. Northern Command’s Coordination with States and the National Guard Bureau, but Gaps Remain.” United States Government Accountability Office 8, no. 252 (2008). 1-57.

Robert Morton. Will Iran Nuclear Bomb Renew Star Wars?Open Source Intelligence News. Web.

Footnotes

GAO. “Homeland Defense: Steps Have Been Taken to Improve U.S. Northern Command’s Coordination with States and the National Guard Bureau, but Gaps Remain.” United States Government Accountability Office 8, no. 252 (2008): 44.
Andrew Blum, Victor Asal, and Jonathan Wlkenfeld, “Nonstate Actors, Terrorism, and Weapons of Mass Destruction,” International Studies Review 7, no. 1 (2005): 155.
Robert Morton, Will Iran Nuclear Bomb Renew Star Wars? Open Source Intelligence News.
Christian Enemark, “Farewell to WMD: The Language and Science of Mass Destruction,” Contemporary Security Policy 32, no. 2 (2011): 391.
James Clapper, Statement for the Record on the Worldwide Threat Assessment of the U.S. Intelligence Community for the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (New York: US National Intelligence, 2011), 5.
Mohamed Ali, “Cautious Welcome for New Prime Minister,” Open Source Center 6, no. 30 (2011): 2.

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