http://www.reuters.com/article/pressRelease/idUS161241+13-Oct-2009+PRN20091013
It’s Not Iran, Stupid: US is in violation of NPT
http://www.campaigniran.org/casmii/index.php?q=node/8782
The Security Council – the folks that gave us UNSC Resolution 487, which "strongly condemned" Israel for attacking the IAEA-Safeguarded nuclear reactor in Iraq – is once again calling upon Israel to place all its nuclear facilities under IAEA safeguards.
Now, there were reports that the Likudniks in the Obama-Biden administration had attempted to get Iran singled out by name in UNSCR 1887 as an example of a State not in compliance with its NPT obligations, and hence, ineligible to enjoy the benefits of the peaceful use of atomic energy guaranteed them by the NPT.
Worse still, deserving of having egregious sanctions – and other acts of war – imposed by fellow NPT-signatories.
But the Chinese and Russians would have none of that. They know that the principal obligation of a non-nuclear-weapons state NPT-signatory is to not "manufacture or otherwise acquire nuclear weapons."
Consequently, a non-nuclear-weapons state is required to conclude a Safeguards Agreement with the IAEA, covering certain NPT-proscribed "nuclear materials" and all activities involving their chemical or physical transformation, for the "exclusive purpose" of "verifying" the "non-diversion" of NPT-proscribed "nuclear materials" to nuclear weapons.
Here is what Nobel-Laureate Steven Chu told the IAEA General Conference last week after delivering Nobel-Laureate Barack Obama’s message:
"Countries that violate their international obligations must face serious consequences both here and at the UN Security Council. Failure to impose meaningful consequences puts at risk everything we have achieved."
As everyone at the Conference except Chu knew well, it is the United States that has repeatedly violated its obligations, under the NPT, the IAEA Statute and the UN Charter: not Iran.
Non-proliferation treaty and Iran
http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=109866
A.K.N. Ahmed
FOR the last few years Iran has been chastised by the western powers, particularly US, for trying to make nuclear bombs despite the strong denial of that country that it is not doing so and that it is trying to develop nuclear power for meeting its growing need of electricity. This controversy raises many questions, including the following:
-Is it not true that the treaty empowers all countries to enrich uranium for peaceful purposes and, according to expert opinion, Iran's efforts to enrich uranium have not yet reached the level of producing bombs?
-Is it not true that the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) is inherently discriminating since it divided the world into nuclear "haves" and "have-nots," and the logic of deciding who was legally allowed to keep nuclear weapons was based on an arbitrary cut-off date (January 1967) by which a country should have tested a nuclear device?
-Is it not true that no action was taken against India when it did not sign the NPT and later on tested nuclear bombs?
-Is it not true that sanctions were imposed on Pakistan when it tested nuclear bombs despite being a signatory of NPT, and is it not true that the sanction was unilaterally lifted by US after 9/11 in order to secure active support of that country in its "War on Terror?"
-Is it not true that contrary to NPT agreement 5 major nuclear powers (particularly US and Russia) not only modernised their nuclear arsenals but also increased their total stock of such weapons?
-Is it not true that the western powers including US looked the other way when Israel was engaged in developing nuclear bombs? Israel began its nuclear programme in early 1958 when it constructed the core of its nuclear infrastructure and in 1967 it completed the development stage of its first nuclear weapons. By 1970 Israel's status as a nuclear weapon state became an accepted fact. Is it not true that not a single nuclear power came out publicly against Israel's acquisition of nuclear weapons? Is it not public knowledge that Israel now possesses 400 nuclear bombs and that the major western powers are pretending ignorance of this fact to avoid any action on their part?
-Is it not true that during the period of the cold war both the USA and Soviet Union built up their stocks of nuclear weapons to the extent that they ran short of their targets where they could be dropped if need be?
-Is it not true that President Reagan, towards the end of his tenure, publicly stated: "I call upon the scientific community of our country, those who gave us nuclear weapons to turn their talents now to the cause of mankind and world peace to give us means of rendering the nuclear weapons impotent and obsolete?" Is it not true that in recent years senior statesmen of US, like Henry Kissinger, George Schultz, Senator Lugar, ex-Senator Sam Nunn, have all come out with public statements demanding destruction of the stocks of nuclear weapons all over the world.
In short, the world has essentially lost its trust and confidence in the five nuclear weapons states. Their silence over Israel's acquisition of nuclear bombs created a loophole in the non-proliferation regime, through which others could walk in. Far more dangerously, it delegitimised the NPT in the eyes of the Muslim world. NPT not having legal wings to fly with, has to be perceived as fair in order to survive in perpetuity. There is no doubt that NPT would die if the Islamic World start widely believing that it was illegitimate. Even if Iran is reined in, other countries will go for nuclear weapons in the name of self-protection. Already, some countries voice their protests in this direction when the issue is debated in the IAEA.
Contrary to what major western powers want the rest of the world to believe, the biggest source of nuclear proliferation are the nuclear weapons states themselves, specially the US and Russia, which still stock and continue to develop thousands of nuclear weapons. Mohammed El-Baradei, the chief of IAEA, was right when he said: "The very existence of nuclear weapons give rise to the pursuit of them." They are seen as sources of global influence and are valued for their perceived deterrent effect. And as long as some countries possess them (or are protected by them in alliance) and others do not, this asymmetry will breed chronic global insecurity.
President Obama has been awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace. The entire world, including US, will now anxiously look forward to see how he bends his efforts and energy towards world peace. One litmus test of his leadership in that direction will be whether he commits himself totally to non-proliferation by destroying the stocks of nuclear weapons, particularly in US and Russia. One giant step in that direction should be the first step towards world peace and prosperity. If he fails in this effort a whispering campaign will emerge in many countries saying: "Physician, heal thyself."
A.K.N. Ahmed is a former Governor of Bangladesh Bank.
ElBaradei: Iranian nuclear threat hyped
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1255694830457&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
US lacks smart nuclear policy
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/IK21Ak02.html
Nov 21, 2007
Israel in Canada: Promised lands
http://ericwalberg.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=201:israel-in-canada-promised-lands&catid=39:europe-canada-and-us-&Itemid=92
The Teflon cloak Israel has tried to wrap itself in since Operation Cast Lead, the invasion of Gaza in December 2008, looks as strong as ever in Canada. "Canada is so friendly that there was no need to convince or explain anything to anyone. We need allies like this in the international arena," gushed Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman in July. Toronto's new Israeli consul, Amir Gissin, recently announced his Toronto staff would be expanded, despite the fact that Canada already has more Israeli diplomatic staff per capita than any other country in the world, due to "the city's large Israeli population" and the fact that Toronto is "an arena for Israel from a PR, cultural and commercial point of view". He also said it "reflects the importance of the Toronto Jewish community" in supporting Israel. Indeed, there are an estimated 100, 000 Israelis who prefer the joys of living in Canada to facing the violence-charged daily life of Israel, and many Canadian Jews who opt for instant citizenship in Israel. Toronto Jews have been generous in their support of Israel since its founding.
Three Israel-related events this year have stayed in the headlines, reflecting the importance of Israel in Canadian political and cultural life.
The Truth
“One day I gonna come back here and I’m gonna tell what you people are doing here.” Those words were spoken by me in 1959 after being beaten almost to death while incarcerated at the Florida School for Boys at Marianna by R.W. Hatton. It was then that I began looking at life, as well as the establishment, in a different light. Being a somewhat of a shy and withdrawn young man, I knew this was not going to be easy for me. To raise my head and look someone directly in the eye was a major feat for me to accomplish.
From that day forward, I watched anyone in authority and I made a mental note of any abuse of power. Having studied law for three years, I joined the Stanislaus County Welfare Rights Organization and began representing women and children who had been cut off welfare for unjustifiable reasons.
A victory for free speech and the web
The web's response to an injunction on the Guardian reveals the liberating power of the internet
LHC gets colder than deep space
A Sea Change: Imagine a World Without Fish
http://ecolocalizer.com/2009/10/12/a-sea-change-imagine-a-world-without-fish
20 Perfect Water Reflections
Rama's Bridge - the 30 Mile Sandbank that divides two cultures
Eric Walberg.com
Gather
What Is The Value Of A Tree?
http://peakenergy.blogspot.com/2006_04_01_archive.html
The Christian Science Monitor takes a look at how much cutting a tree down can cost.
The ABCs (and Ks) of Vitamin Deficiency
http://www.divinecaroline.com/22177/84858-abcs--and-ks--vitamin-deficiency
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_b.png?x-id=4f8c683d-ffc7-4a07-b56e-1e644e4b354a)
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment