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Let's start with red lines. Here it is, Washington’s ultimate red line,straight from
the lion’s mouth. Only last week Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta
said of the Iranians, “Are they trying to develop a nuclear weapon? No.
But we know that they're trying to develop a nuclear capability. And
that's what concerns us. And our red line to Iran is do not develop a
nuclear weapon. That's a red line for us.”
How
strange, the way those red lines continue to retreat. Once upon a
time, the red line for Washington was “enrichment” of uranium. Now, it’s
evidently an actual nuclear weapon that can be brandished. Keep in mind
that, since 2005, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei has stressed that his country is not seeking to build a nuclear weapon. The most recent National Intelligence Estimate on
Iran from the U.S. Intelligence Community has similarly stressed that
Iran is not, in fact, developing a nuclear weapon (as opposed to the
breakout capacity to build one someday).
What if, however, there is no “red line,” but something completely different? Call it the petrodollar line.
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