7 ms·

Or get assassinated. Iran's nuclear scientists tended to get blown up, for example and i think most suspect Israel's Mossad.

dsfyu404ed 9y ago
Which is kinda shitty since a the mid level people who are living quite well but aware of how bad things could be are generally a source of stability and sanity in those kinds of regimes.
- duncan_bayne 9y ago
  "I was just following orders", right? Turns out that's not a great defense anywhere in the world.
  - jethro_tell 9y ago
    So we should send guys in to kill them? I mean, I hear your point but I think It could be made equally of all parties.
    - duncan_bayne 9y ago
      Only if you assume their actions (building a nuclear weapons program for a theocratic dictatorship like Iran, vs. preventing same from happening) are morally equivalent. I don't think they are.
  - yongjik 9y ago
    Are you talking about Iran or Mossad?
    - duncan_bayne 9y ago
      See above.
  - zaphirplane 9y ago
    You mean for the assassin or the scientist
- gruturo 9y ago
  If you're an engineer working for a dictator, empowering him with offensive (or defensive) technologies, you absolutely need to expect foreign intelligence agencies' attention, up to and including assassination. This is quite literally those agencies' raison d'être.
  - bhouston 9y ago
    Iran's situation is fairly different than NK. NK enrages much more like a madman. Iran on the otherhand isn't starving, the leaders are much more rational, there are actual elections, and their attempt at nuclear weapons are generally defensive, although of course it's neighbors would sleep better if it didn't have nukes because that changes the balance of power in the region. Us Iran relations are currently caught up because of the US alliance with Israel and Saudi Arabia who see Iran as the regional threat, otherwise there would not be such a focus on it. NK on the otherhand is a just a basket case that threatens it's neighbors to get handouts. I feel bad for NK's inhabitants, they are by far the biggest losers in all this.
    - markyc 9y ago
      Iran has officially stated they want Israel obliterated, and then they started building up nukes, so not sure how sane or defensive they are
      - bhouston 9y ago
        Be sure to be grounded in reality, and not just rhetoric - all official estimates of Iran's nuclear weapon's program suggest it stopped pursuing it 2003: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_program_of_Iran https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_program_of_Iran To claim otherwise is to grasp to non-credible sources, which frankly is a very popular thing to do in this area.
- tormeh 9y ago
  Yeah, but the skills that country needs are concentrated in a few brains. That's a weak point that's easy to exploit. And deniable. Iran's got no shortage of intellectuals. A couple of nuclear scientists going away won't move the needle. Also, Iran is not one of "those kinds of regimes". It's one of the better countries to live in in the middle east. Apparently it's a cool place to visit too. US allies like Saudi Arabia, Pakistan etc. are worse.

dsfyu404ed 9y ago

Which is kinda shitty since a the mid level people who are living quite well but aware of how bad things could be are generally a source of stability and sanity in those kinds of regimes.

duncan_bayne 9y ago
"I was just following orders", right? Turns out that's not a great defense anywhere in the world.
- jethro_tell 9y ago
  So we should send guys in to kill them? I mean, I hear your point but I think It could be made equally of all parties.
  - duncan_bayne 9y ago
    Only if you assume their actions (building a nuclear weapons program for a theocratic dictatorship like Iran, vs. preventing same from happening) are morally equivalent. I don't think they are.
- yongjik 9y ago
  Are you talking about Iran or Mossad?
  - duncan_bayne 9y ago
    See above.
- zaphirplane 9y ago
  You mean for the assassin or the scientist
gruturo 9y ago
If you're an engineer working for a dictator, empowering him with offensive (or defensive) technologies, you absolutely need to expect foreign intelligence agencies' attention, up to and including assassination. This is quite literally those agencies' raison d'être.
- bhouston 9y ago
  Iran's situation is fairly different than NK. NK enrages much more like a madman. Iran on the otherhand isn't starving, the leaders are much more rational, there are actual elections, and their attempt at nuclear weapons are generally defensive, although of course it's neighbors would sleep better if it didn't have nukes because that changes the balance of power in the region. Us Iran relations are currently caught up because of the US alliance with Israel and Saudi Arabia who see Iran as the regional threat, otherwise there would not be such a focus on it. NK on the otherhand is a just a basket case that threatens it's neighbors to get handouts. I feel bad for NK's inhabitants, they are by far the biggest losers in all this.
  - markyc 9y ago
    Iran has officially stated they want Israel obliterated, and then they started building up nukes, so not sure how sane or defensive they are
    - bhouston 9y ago
      Be sure to be grounded in reality, and not just rhetoric - all official estimates of Iran's nuclear weapon's program suggest it stopped pursuing it 2003: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_program_of_Iran https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_program_of_Iran To claim otherwise is to grasp to non-credible sources, which frankly is a very popular thing to do in this area.
tormeh 9y ago
Yeah, but the skills that country needs are concentrated in a few brains. That's a weak point that's easy to exploit. And deniable. Iran's got no shortage of intellectuals. A couple of nuclear scientists going away won't move the needle. Also, Iran is not one of "those kinds of regimes". It's one of the better countries to live in in the middle east. Apparently it's a cool place to visit too. US allies like Saudi Arabia, Pakistan etc. are worse.