The administration isn't concerned how soon the Iranians could get a bomb, just that they have the capacity to make one at all.
That's not how that works, it's not a movie where you kill the super smart scientist and be done with it, this shit spreads. Are you implying the only way going forward is bombing Iran's infraestructure every other year or so or... More "nation building"?
Yes, it is how it works. It takes a decade or more of extreme effort to make an atomic weapon. You need LOTS of "parts" like scientists, technicians, infrastructure & materials. Losing one "piece" can set the program back by years.
Every step of the process is VERY obvious to outside observers. You cannot build structures housing thousands of centrifuges & keep them hidden. You cannot build a breeder reactor in secret, they kind of stand out, eh?
But also yes! If Iran went right back to it? They could reach this point again in just a few years & "reminding them" with MOABs may be required.
Is that point "weeks away" or months or years? Doesn't matter, they could get back a lot faster than getting there took because, like you say, we cannot destroy EVERYTHING required: just the hardest to get parts.
That's not how that works, it's not a movie where you kill the super smart scientist and be done with it, this shit spreads. Are you implying the only way going forward is bombing Iran's infraestructure every other year or so or... More "nation building"?
Yes, it is how it works. It takes a decade or more of extreme effort to make an atomic weapon. You need LOTS of "parts" like scientists, technicians, infrastructure & materials. Losing one "piece" can set the program back by years.
Every step of the process is VERY obvious to outside observers. You cannot build structures housing thousands of centrifuges & keep them hidden. You cannot build a breeder reactor in secret, they kind of stand out, eh?
But also yes! If Iran went right back to it? They could reach this point again in just a few years & "reminding them" with MOABs may be required.
Is that point "weeks away" or months or years? Doesn't matter, they could get back a lot faster than getting there took because, like you say, we cannot destroy EVERYTHING required: just the hardest to get parts.