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0 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? subscribe | newsletter | deals Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » NEWS NOW Rogue Valley programs persevere in extreme heat ... Chris Honoré: Sept. 15, 1963 – Birmingham, Alabama ... Concern about violence leads Ashland synagogues to use video systems ... Rogue Valley programs persevere in extreme heat ... Chris Honoré: Sept. 15, 1963 – Birmingham, Alabama ... Concern about violence leads Ashland synagogues to use video systems ... RELOCATIONS Herb Rothschild Jr.: A good day for peace Comment DailyTidings.com Writer Posted Feb. 7, 2015 at 12:01 AM Posted Feb. 7, 2015 at 12:01 AM What do you think? --> Have an opinion on this topic? Send a letter to the editor at www.dailytidings.com/sendletter. » Read more X What do you think? Have an opinion on this topic? Send a letter to the editor at www.dailytidings.com/sendletter . » Social News If you cherish peace, Jan. 27 was a good day. Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., announced that he would stop pressing for new economic sanctions on Iran. Since removal of existing sanctions is the Western powers’ carrot in the negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program, imposing more at this critical stage would destroy prospects for an agreement. What happened was a reprise of late 2013, when a similar Menendez-Kirk (R-Ill.) bill seemed likely to garner veto-proof Congressional support. But grassroots peace groups mobilized resistance. Peace House took part. Both Oregon Sens. Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden chose diplomacy over hostility. They still do. A space for diplomacy had opened when Western nations dropped their demand that Iran forego all uranium enrichment, a demand that was illegal, unique, and thus insulting to a signatory of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NNPT) of 1970. On Iran’s part, moderate Hassan Rouhani replaced Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as president in August, 2013. Since early 2012 Peace House has been increasing public literacy about this issue by explaining enrichment, the terms of the NNPT, and the state of play. I do so again now. Enrichment means increasing the proportion of the fissionable Uranium 235 to the non-fissionable Uranium 238. In nature, U235 is less than 1 percent of the mix. For civilian power plants it must be at least 5 percent. For medicine, it must be 20 percent; for nuclear weapons at least 90 percent. U235 and U238 are isotopes of the same element. That means they differ only in the number of neutrons in their nuclei. Neutrons have no electric charge, so isotopes can’t be separated chemically. They must be separated mechanically by exploiting the unimaginably small difference in their weights. It’s a slow and laborious process. Spinning the mix in centrifuges is one means. That’s Iran’s method. As a signatory to the NNPT, Iran is entitled to enrich. Non-nuclear weapons signers agreed not to acquire nuclear weapons (Article II), but were assured the right to develop civilian nuclear capability (Article IV). They also pledged to place their facilities under inspection by the International Atomic Energy Agency. Iran has generally complied with its obligations under the NNPT. The five original nuclear weapons states have not — we pledged to abolish our nuclear arsenals with reasonable dispatch. The four nations that acquired nuclear weapons after 1970 — India, Pakistan, North Korea, and Israel — never signed. The current negotiations, which now have more time to succeed, aim to guarantee that Iran’s civilian nuclear program won’t become a weapons program. The prospects are good. So why would there be any opposition? There are two elephants in the room. One is the Republican members of Congress. The other is Israel’s President Benjamin Netanyahu, who a year ago got the American Israel Public Affairs Committee to press Democrats as well as Republicans to impose new sanctions. This opposition makes no sense. Past and current high-level security officials in Israel publicly support diplomacy as the best way to keep Iran from developing nuclear weapons. And on Jan. 21, France’s minister of foreign affairs and international development, Britain’s foreign secretary, Germany’s federal minister for foreign affairs, and the high representative of the European Union for foreign affairs and security policy published a well-timed op ed in The Washington Post that cited the success of the negotiations to date. Permanent hostility seems the default mode of both GOP members of Congress and Netanyahu, the former to President Obama, the latter to his neighbors. No real good has come of either, but they play well in the polling booth. Herb Rothschild Jr. is chairman of the board of Peace House.     DailyTidings.com Writer Posted Feb. 7, 2015 at 12:01 AM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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