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Iran's Missile Threat

[Wall Street Journal ] Editorial - Talk about timing. On Tuesday, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was in Prague signing an agreement that's a first step toward protecting Europe from ballistic missile attack. As if on cue, Tehran tested nine missiles, including several capable of reaching southern Europe, as well as Israel and U.S. troops stationed in the Middle East. Who says Iran isn't a threat? No one in the neighborhood - least of all the Russians - actually believes Iran's missile program is anything but dangerous. Russians talk privately about the Iranian threat, and it's not hard to imagine a scenario whereby Tehran shares a missile - and perhaps a nuclear warhead - with its brother Muslims in Chechnya. Iran's tests are a useful reminder of just how real the Iranian threat is - and how rapidly it is growing. One of the missiles tested was the latest update of the Shahab-3. Replace the payload with a lighter one - say, a nuclear warhead - and the range gains 1,000 miles. Add a booster and the range can be extended even farther. U.S. intelligence estimates that Iran will have a ballistic missile capable of reaching New York or Washington by 2015. Iran may already have the capability to target the U.S. with a short-range missile by launching it from a freighter off the East Coast. A few years ago it was observed practicing the launch of Scuds from a barge in the Caspian Sea.
2008-07-10 01:00:00
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