The same was true in 1980 or 81 ( i don't remember exactly ) when Israel destroyed the nuclear reactor the french were building in Baghdad at the time .

We made that debate about a year or so ago concerning nuclear proliferation , but the subject will probably need to be address for as long as they're will be nuclear weapons in this world .

At the time Israel destroyed the nuclear reactor under construction in Baghdad they went across Jordanian and Saudi air space guided by american AWACS . Those countries were and remain to this day strong american allies .

Irak at the time was closer to the french but then became american allies and they invaded the Shatt Al-Arab marshlands region under american guidance and support and they also attacked the part of kurdistan wich was under iranian jurisdiction . At the time Donald Rumsfeld was the american special adviser to Saddam Hussein .

That war lasted 10 years and it is estimated that about 1 million people were killed on each side . The main reason for that war was american retribution for the overthrow of the Shaw and the loss of the most important american ally in the middle east and of course the humiliation suffered by the american embassy take over in Teheran and the subsequent failures of special ops sent in Iranian territory . Other geopolitical reasons could be argued here of course .

The debate about nuclear proliferation remains a debate about those who dominate the nuclear scene ( USA , Russia China England France Israel and India ) and those who wish to enter it or have recently accessed it ( North Korea and Pakistan ) .

Any country wishing to developp Nuclear reactor for energy purposes is regarded as being potentialy guilty by the " nuclear club " according to its geopolitical situation .

As for what the CIA knows about the Iranian plans and purposes let's hope it's better documented then what they knew about Irak's WMD or what the MI5 affirmed prior to the invasion of Irak wich in the end has put an end to Colin Powell's political ambitions and costed substantial lives loss to irakians as well as americans .

For a thorough chronology of the events leading to the invasion of Irak see : http://www.monde-diplomatique.fr/cahier/irak/a9677 ( sorry but it's in french you can get a translation through google translation , though it's not always accurate ) .

The fear of nuclear proliferation is imo justifiable but the arguments used in it's favor are most of the time ideologicaly oriented and in support of those who dominate the nuclear weapons scene .

A lot of progress has been made over the last 25 years concerning containment and reduction mostly through the SALT and START treaties bringing down substantialy the amount of nuclear weapons owned by the USA and Russia .

As for the debate concerning an attack on Iran Nuclear installation i believe the potential cost for such action are greater then the potential gains . For all that's been said over the last 2 or 3 years about the Iranian nuclear programs the estimate for the creation of the first nuclear weapon range from 2 to 10 years, such a discrepancy seems to point towards a lot of ignorance rather then solid information .

Can the world afford the risk of Iran having the bomb ?

As long as the world lives in a MAD state of affair we will have to fear man's madness and any newcomer carrying a weapon in the neighbourhood will add to the madness , but that is not to say that a preemptive strike leading to a new war will solve the problem . IMO it would create an even worst situation then the one resulting from the invasion of Irak was a peace of cake compared to Iran , They're are 66 million people in Iran compared to 28 million in Irak , the geography is much more complex and easily defendable then that of Irak and it's access to the gulf would represent a strategic defensive challenge for invading forces as well as for all ship traficking through ,

It would also create a situation where occidental ennemies from Syria to Pakistan would be geographicaly linked increasing the potential for joint intervention . On the other hand it would also increase the outcry from the surrounding muslim world , making worst a situation wich is already bad .