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Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Israel tells ElBaradei Iran wants atomic bomb
2004-07-08
TEL AVIV - Israel told the UN nuclear watchdog on Wednesday that Iran’s atomic programme is a front for developing nuclear weapons that could one day be used against the Jewish state, prompting angry reactions from Syria and Iran. "They (the Israelis) were expressing concern about Iran," Mohamed ElBaradei told reporters after meeting Israel’s nuclear energy commission director, other officials and a former head of the Mossad secret service.

ElBaradei, who heads the International Atomic Energy Agency, is on a three-day visit to Israel, which refuses to admit or deny having nuclear weapons under a policy of "strategic ambiguity". International experts believe it has 100-200 warheads, based on estimates of the quantity of plutonium that has been produced at its Dimona desert reactor.

ElBaradei said his attempts to promote the idea of a nuclear weapons-free zone in the Middle East ran up against Israeli concern about Iran’s nuclear ambitions and about the hostility to Israel of some states in the region. "The majority of the countries in the Middle East feel that there is this security imbalance in the Middle East, this double standard," ElBaradei said of the assumption that Israel has atomic weapons and other Middle East states do not. "Here the Israelis are saying you cannot even discuss that because we cannot lower our security threshold before we have a comprehensive peace where we are fully accepted as part and parcel of the region," he said.

Iran, which -- unlike Israel -- has signed the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), says it wants nuclear technology solely for the obliteration of the evil Jooooos peaceful generation of electricity. But Washington and Israel accuse Tehran of concealing research that could be related to nuclear arms for nearly two decades until last year. ElBaradei has said "the jury is still out to lunch" on whether Iran is seeking the bomb.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi said the Israelis were pointing the finger at Iran in an attempt to avoid censure for Israel’s nuclear weapons programme. "The Zionist regime’s claims about Iran’s nuclear programme are aimed at veiling its own nuclear activity and avoiding revealing its nuclear secrets to the IAEA," state television quoted him as saying.

Syrian state radio said in a commentary that ElBaradei’s visit was a reminder that Israel "is ignoring all international efforts to prevent the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, at the head of which are nuclear weapons."
The Swiss state radio was rather quiet though about NKor, Iranian, Syrian, and Pakistani proliferation.
IAEA spokesman Mark Gwozdecky told reporters ElBaradei could act as a kind of "go-between" between Israel and its neighbours so that they could work out their differences and come to a security arrangement that did not include nuclear weapons.
That's so idiotic that it could only be spoken by someone affiliated with an international agency.
Asked if the Israelis agreed with ElBaradei’s view that the Israel must begin talks on disarming itself as a parallel process to Middle East peace negotiations, Gwozdecky said: "They’re certainly listening and rolling their eyes in disgust. We need to talk with the prime minister."

ElBaradei will meet Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom on Thursday and analysts said Iran was likely to come up again in those talks.
Posted by:Mark Espinola

#6  ElBaradei has said "the jury is still out to lunch" on whether Iran is seeking the bomb.

ElBaradei is hopelessly compromised and any putative authority he may have had is fatally flawed. Get rid of him, quick.

When enough unstable countries get nulclear weapons and a city gets nuked, what are the options for the target country?

This is why it is so important to obtain "fingerprint" samples of radioactive material from all foreign reactors. It permits tracing the residue of any nuclear explosion back to the enrichment facility that produced it.

Pakistan has refused to release such specimens and Iran doubtlessly will avoid doing so as well. In such an event, if a city is nuked, then those countries who have not provided trace analysis samples should immediately be glassed over.

This needs to be made a global policy. The real problem comes if a black market Ukraine suitcase bomb gets set off. I do not see any other measure but to nuke Ukraine as an example. There has to be a horrible price for anyone considering nuclear terrorism or assisting its proliferation.

America has the benefit of being outside the range of all but the most advanced missile technology. We will need to carefully deploy devastating strikes against anyone who even attempts a nuclear attack upon us.

None of this pre-empts the importantance of interdiction. Iran's weapons program immediately must be reduced to smouldering rubble. There is not one single reason for taking any chances with such a bellicose regime and they certainly deserve none.

Do you think Iran already has a few and thats why we aren't taking action?

It's unlikely that Iran has fabricated any devices as of yet. You can rest assured that Israel is straining at the leash right now. Because there is no obvious or peaceful resolution awaiting this entire issue, I fail to see why anyone is waiting. A nuclear armed Iran would be one of this century's greatest blunders.

Posted by: Zenster   2004-07-08 6:56:15 PM  

#5  Does anyone have an idea why we or Israel hasn't already taken out Iran's nuke factory? It really makes no sense to me. I'd bet the Israel of 20yrs ago would have already done it. Do you think Iran already has a few and thats why we aren't taking action?
Posted by: Yosemite Sam   2004-07-08 10:46:10 AM  

#4  
Israel tells ElBaradei Iran wants atomic bomb
Don't waste your breath, Israel. Baradei knows that. In fact, he's trying to help them get it. Just so they can murder you.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut   2004-07-08 10:27:47 AM  

#3  When enough unstable countries get nulclear weapons and a city gets nuked, what are the options for the target country?
1. Take it and do nothing. This invites more nuclear attacks.
2. Nuke a city of the counties they suspect.
A. Which invites nuclear retaliation.
B. Which invites all out nuclear war between target country and suspect countries.
C. If suspect counties are to be destroyed, before going down, they have incentive to nuke their other enemies in order to prevent takeover.
D. Cycle (C) repeats with these new target counties.

Logically, once a nuclear exchange starts, the incentive is to skip escalation and immediately nuke all possible enemies before you are destoyed.
Posted by: ed   2004-07-08 8:42:52 AM  

#2  This is HUGE trouble, and I wonder just exactly how much longer we are going to dick around with the "international community" that knows so goddamn much about whats good for everybody but is to pussified to do anything about it?
I'm much more frightened of nuclear war now than I was 25 years ago. Too bad there are so many brillant assclowns that refuse to learn from history and insist that the world is beyond disinegrating into war. The League of Nations UN has already demonstrated itself as usless at best and dangerous at worst, they really need to be told to do one of 3 things: Lead, Follow or get the hell out of the way. My money is on them continuing to hem and haw and get absolutley nothing done, while the Islamist world gears up for their global caliphate.
Posted by: JerseyMike   2004-07-08 8:15:52 AM  

#1  I guess ElB wasn't listening when Iran stated that as soon as they have a nuke Israel gets nuked.
Posted by: Raptor   2004-07-08 7:03:17 AM  

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