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| Middle East | |
| ‘Israel open to nuke disarming’ | |
| 2003-10-25 | |
The head of the UN nuclear watchdog said that Israel, which has never publicly admitted to having atomic weapons, would be willing to get rid of any nuclear arms it may have if there was peace in the Middle East. Despite Israel's refusal to deny or confirm the possession of a nuclear arsenal, non-proliferation analysts estimate that the country has anywhere from 100 to 200 atomic weapons. "(It is) good news, at least, that Israel agreed that in the long term they need to get rid of their nuclear weapons capability or the nuclear weapons that they have," International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Mohamed ElBaradei said in an interview with Austria's Die Presse newspaper in Vienna. It was not immediately clear when and how Israel had communicated this to the IAEA. "However they (Israel) are saying they cannot do that except in the context of a comprehensive peace, when their right to exist is fully recognised by all the countries of the region," he said in the English transcript of the interview, obtained by Reuters.
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| Posted by:Fred Pruitt |
| #5 The only way I see this happening is if the US signs a formal mutual defense treaty with Israel, in which case an attack on Israel by the Arabs would be construed as an attack on the US. Regardless of a treaty, Bush would jump in and help Isreal anyway. He's not the type of person to just let Isreal be destroyed. Paleo terrorists is something Isreal has to handle on it's own. ( Although under the table I'm sure we're lending Intel and money ) However if several armies attack Isreal, we will step in and wipe them out. It's not the "6 Day War" anymore. And we actually have a President that is willing to take Military action against the ME, even if it's alone. |
| Posted by: Charles 2003-10-25 8:53:59 PM |
| #4 except in the context of a comprehensive peace, when their right to exist is fully recognised by all the countries of the region ie: when hell freezes over. Ha ha...I think that's smooth. |
| Posted by: B 2003-10-25 6:45:21 PM |
| #3 The only way I see this happening is if the US signs a formal mutual defense treaty with Israel, in which case an attack on Israel by the Arabs would be construed as an attack on the US. |
| Posted by: Zhang Fei 2003-10-25 6:30:58 PM |
| #2 Agree with all that this is an amazing concession by Israel. I also suspect that they will want to put the weapons "in escrow" initially, just to be sure that any agreement is worth the parchment it's written on -- although Egypt & Israel are legally at peace, it seems as though Egypt has suspended most of the trade & cultural programs that were initially put into place. |
| Posted by: snellenr 2003-10-25 5:36:23 PM |
| #1 That tosses the ball back into Syria's court, I'd say... More like a live hand grenade, but other than that, right on! |
| Posted by: Old Patriot 2003-10-25 3:48:53 PM |