The U.S. and its allies in a program to stop the spread of weapons of mass destruction prevented Iran from obtaining material for its nuclear weapons program within the past nine months, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said.The missing piece of information I want is "shipments from WHERE?"
"The trans-shipment of material and equipment bound for ballistic missile programs in countries of concern, including Iran" was blocked as was the transfer of "equipment used to produce propellant" to a "ballistic missile program in another region" of the world, Rice said.
Rice disclosed the intercepts in a speech celebrating the second anniversary of the Proliferation Security Initiative, a global effort started by President George W. Bush to stop trafficking in weapons of mass destruction.
Rice gave no details but said that the U.S. and 10 of its partners in the initiative have cooperated on 11 successful interdiction efforts over the past nine months. Iran was the only nation interdicted that she cited by name.
And now, the John Bolton Bonus:
Noticeably absent from the PSI event was John Bolton, Bush's nominee for U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. As undersecretary for arms control and international security, Bolton has led the U.S. drive to win endorsement for the nonproliferation initiative, negotiating cooperation agreements with worldwide.Remember this the next time some liberal blathers on about wanting to stop weapons proliferation...
Senate Democrats blocked a vote on his nomination to the UN post last week. The earliest the Senate could vote again is June 7.
