Question to Which I Probably Know the Answer

Iran has just opened a heavy water nuclear reactor. They have also been enriching unranium for the past several months.

According to the story linked above, light water reactors use regular water and require enriched uranium (though not so highly enriched as weapons-grade uranium) in order for the fission reaction to work. Heavy water reactors use water formed using a heavier hydrogen isotope (i.e. hydrogen with one or more neutrons in the nucleus) and do not require enriched uranium for for the fission reaction to proceed. However, it is possible to obtain plutonium from the uranium rods once the uranium can no longer be used as nuclear fuel. This plutonium can then be used to make nuclear weapons.

If Iran's nuclear program is merely directed toward the production of nuclear energy and not nuclear weapons, why should Iran be engaged in both the building of a heavy water nuclear reactor and the enrichment of uranium?

John Bolton Rocks

It is being reported that the U.S. and France have reached an agreement on a draft Security Council resolution* calling for a cease-fire between Israel and Hezbollah. Ordinarily, I would think this a horrible thing, but on balance this one might actually do some lasting good.

The draft, sent to the entire Security Council for consideration, "calls for a full cessation of hostilities based upon, in particular, the immediate cessation by Hezbollah of all attacks and the immediate cessation by Israel of all offensive military operations."

Hezbollah has made the withdrawal of all Israeli forces from Lebanon the criterion for halting their operations (both terrorist and military), but the resolution does not call for this. Thus, either Hezbollah defies the cease-fire resolution, and Israel continues its assaults upon Hezbollah; or Hezbollah abides by the conditions of the cease-fire as laid out in the resolution and loses face as a result of its failure to follow through on its promise "to fight to the last bullet and to the last breath" to drive Israeli forces from Lebanon.

*It still has to be adopted, butthere is no reason at this point to think it won't be.