TJP
THE JETHRO PROJECT
O R G A N I Z I N G F O R E F F I C I E N T O U T P U T
- Eliminating Own WMD Determines Credibility and Leadership
- Byron A. Ellis – September 28, 2009
President Eisenhower’s address to the General Assembly of the United Nations in 1953 helped propel the creation in 1957 of the International Energy Atomic Agency (IAEA); which was created in response to the discovery of nuclear energy.
At the time, only the United States (US, 1945), Soviet Union (Russia, 1949) and United Kingdom (UK, 1952) had nuclear technology. However, in 1960 France joined the club and in 1964 China acquired nuclear technology. Thus, the IAEA safeguards were inadequate in the sixties, as it is now, to prevent nuclear proliferation.
In 1968, the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) was approved. The NPT essentially attempted to freeze the number of countries with nuclear weapons to five countries, which were, at the time, the US, Russia, UK, France and China.
According to the Treaty, all other countries would be required to forgo the nuclear weapons option and adhere to comprehensive safeguards agreements with the IAEA on their nuclear materials.
Countries such as India (1974), Pakistan (1998) and North Korea (2006) have since joined the nuclear weapons club; however, they are not signatories to the NPT. South Africa, under the apartheid regime developed nuclear weapons, but dismantled its arsenal prior to joining the NPT in 1991.
Israel is widely believed to possess nuclear weapons. However, it has not been forced by Western powers to reveal them. Iran, on the other hand, is believed to be developing nuclear weapons and has come under increasing pressure, including sanctions, by Western powers.
Iran has argued that the sanctions are illegal and that under the NPT it can develop peaceful nuclear technology.
The IAEA indicates that the Agency has not seen any Iranian diversion of nuclear materials, nor capacity to produce weapons usable materials.
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The case of nuclear Israel is interesting; it is not a member of the NPT and refuses to confirm or deny having nuclear arsenal, or having developed nuclear weapons. Israel’s Negev Nuclear Research Center, near its Dimona Research Reactor was originally claimed to be a textile factory. The Dimona Research Reactor has not been subjected to international inspection. This on the surface appears to be a double standard as compared to the West's position on Iran. |
According to GlobalSecurity.org, the Dimona heavy water nuclear reactor and companion installation for processing irradiated fuel are used to produce nuclear grade material. The French government was instrumental in developing the Israeli nuclear program at Dimona.
The Natural Resources Defense Council and the Federation of American Scientists believe that Israel possesses around 75–200 nuclear weapons.
Thus, there is, indeed, an unbalanced emphasis on Iranian, as well as North Korea’s, nuclear technology vis-à-vis countries that already posses the technology. It would seem that a dual emphasis of eliminating WMD from countries that already possess them, as well as from those seeking then, would exhibit greater procedural fairness.
So far, it appears that countries with nuclear weapons are vociferously requiring others to forgo the pursuit of nuclear weapons. And, indeed this is a noble pursuit. However, they're unwilling to eliminating their own nuclear arsenal.
Nations possessing nuclear weapons are not credible when they fail to eliminate their own WMD and steadfastly ignore Israel’s nuclear weapons program.
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January
Kudos! What a neat way of tihnking about it.