Monday, August 02, 2010

When It Comes To Iran, No Secret Is Safe--Not Even Their Own

It looks like there are all kinds of concerns about secrets ending up in the hands of Iran.

Israel is worried:

Israel's Defense Minister Ehud Barak has voiced concern that once-stalwart ally Turkey could share Israeli intelligence secrets with Iran, revealing a deep distrust as Ankara's regional interests shift.

In Will Turkey Sell Our Secrets to Iran?, Michael Rubin notes that Obama has the same problem--if he was aware of it:

President Obama, Defense Secretary Gates, and Congress appear prepared to make the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, our most advanced aircraft and the technology upon which the U.S. Air Force will be based for decades to come, to Turkey without even reviewing the potential for technology transfer. Absolutely incredible.

Now Obama appears ready to compound the problem. According to the Washington Post, the administration will soon decide whether to put early-warning radar in either Turkey or Bulgaria. The early-warning radar is meant as a defense largely against Iranian ballistic missiles. But with Turkey so engaged commercially in Iran, can Obama really expect that Turkey is going to stand up to any Iranian demands that come greased with billions of dollars? One of the reasons why the Bush administration did not accept Russian proposals to put early-warning radars in Azerbaijan was because, under Russian pressure, the system could be turned off at any time. The same problem holds true in Turkey.
Well, it it's any comfort, it seems that what goes around comes around--it seems that Iran also has concerns that its secrets might become public knowledge. Elder of Ziyon writes:
Mir-Hossein Mousavi, leader of Iran's opposition, is threatening to reveal secrets that he became aware of during his stint as Iran's last prime minister from 1981 to 1989, says a new report in Al Arabiya.

According to the article, Mousavi wrote a letter of resignation in 1988 which was rejected by the late Ayatollah Khomeini and president Ali Khamanei. This letter, which he is threatening to make public, discloses some foreign Iranian adventures in Lebanon, Saudi Arabia and Iraq. These reportedly include sniper attacks in Lebanon, airplane hijackings and bomb plots against pilgrims going to Mecca.
It seems that Iran has no end of problems.
And that is no secret.

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