Saturday, February 9, 2008

What if Israel gives up its WMDs

A Nuclear-Free Mirage

The Middle East cannot be freed from weapons of mass destruction unless the US turns the spotlight on Israel

by Dilip Hiro


As Mohamed ElBaradei, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, finalises his report on Iran’s nuclear programme, the Iranian foreign minister, Manouchehr Mottaki, has been promoting the “historic idea” of a Middle East free from weapons of mass destruction.This overlaps with a goal adopted by the UN security council back in 1991 when resolution 687 talked about “the establishment of a nuclear-weapons-free zone in the region of the Middle East”.

The resolution, approved after the expulsion of Iraqi troops from Kuwait, had eight paragraphs dealing with Iraq’s programmes in biological, chemical, and nuclear arms, and made clear that sanctions were to be lifted if, and only if, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and other UN inspectors had given Iraq a clean bill of health regarding its WMD activities.

Paragraph 14 notes “that the actions under paragraphs 8-13 of this resolution represent steps towards the goal of establishing in the Middle East a zone free from weapons of mass destruction and all missiles for their delivery and the objective of a global ban on chemical weapons”.

However, there is a subtle but important difference between a WMD-free Middle East and the establishment of a WMD-free zone “in” the Middle East as set out in resolution 687. The resolution does not attempt to define the zone (at least, not beyond Iraq) and the word “in” suggests such a zone might not apply to the whole of the Middle East.

Presumably this omission was not accidental, though the idea of a WMD-free zone covering only parts of the region makes no sense. The objective of a Middle East free of WMDs can be achieved only if Israel is also declared free of them by IAEA and other UN inspectors.

In defiance of the security council resolution 487 of June 1981, Israel has not placed its nuclear facilities, whether civilian or military, under IAEA safeguards.

Indeed, while it is an open secret that Israel’s nuclear facility at Dimona started producing atom bombs in 1968, and that it has built up an arsenal of some 200 nuclear bombs, it has not officially acknowledged the existence of such activity.

Moreover, Israel has ongoing biological and chemical weapons programmes. The Israeli Institute for Biological Research (IIRB) at Ness Ziona, south of Tel Aviv, established in 1952, is the Israeli military and intelligence community’s front organisation for developing, testing and producing biological and chemical weapons. Access to Nes Ziona is denied even to the members of the Israeli parliament’s foreign affairs and defence committees concerned about the health risks to the residents of the area.

The US Office of Technology Assessment for Congress reported in 1993 that Israel had “undeclared offensive chemical warfare capabilities” and was ‘generally reported as having an undeclared offensive biological weapons programme.’ In that year the Israeli government acknowledged that Marcus Klinberg, deputy head of the IIRB, was given 20 years sentence in solitary confinement in 1983 for leaking information on Israel’s biological weapons programme to the Soviet Union. In 1998, despite the protest by Nes Ziona’s residents, the government extended the IIRB site by a further 41 acres.

Unless Washington takes a lead on turning the spotlight on Israel’s WMD, the idea of the WMD-free Middle East will remain empty rhetoric.

Consider this scholarly research about Zionist's intentions and actions towards wiping Arabs off the map to realize the imperative for pushing Israel to disarm!
also see: Israel's sacred Terrorism
and Israel's deadly poison

4 comments:

Naj said...

Anonymous: aka the usual zionist troll with no identity and no website of his/her own ...

1) Iran doesn't wipe anyone off of the map! Iran opposes the Zionism, and ZIONISM WANTS TO WIPE OFF ALL OF THE MIDDLE EAST AND TURN IT INTO THE PROMISE LAND!

2) Israel doesn't SAY it wants to wipe off Arabs off the map. It actually does it! REad this: Zionists wiped Arabs off the map
sholarly research by one of your own "chosen" people!

Rafael said...

Has Iran attacked or invaded anyone in the las 60 years?

The answer is NO.

Has Israel attacked or invaded anyone in the same space of time?

The answer is a resounding YES.

Anonymous said...

Naj,
If you open a history book you will find 2 interesting facts.
1. Israel never attacked Iran
2. Iranian forces did participate in at least 1 attack against Israel.

But then again, history books lie, internet blogs which are hosted on free servers - now thats a reliable piece of information !

Naj said...

oyfg: Would you be so historically accurate to please enlighten us unchosen dudes to "which" attack that one (at least) attack was!

True, Israel has never attacked Iran (directly).

But I also KNOW that Iran has never attacked Israel either!

But if you are an educated Israeli, or (and educated Iranian) then you will know that the little rhetorical game between Iran and Israel is just to make a whole bunch of arms dealers richer, and it is not benefiting neither Israelis, nor Iranians and not Arabs either.

I condemn Iranian leader's "STUPID" language used against Israel. I also CONDEMN Israel's genocidal behavior in that region. Iran is buying alliance by touching the raw nerve of Muslims as far as the Zionism is concerned! But it is Israel that is CARRYING the crimes against Palestinians (and the world!) ... Israelis have pushed the envelope of deceit a bit too far ... and it is time that the world has begun to take notice! No spoiled brat is immune from History's demand upon it to GROW UP AND TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR ITS ACTIONS!