EU3 Lacks Moral Authority to Lecture Iran

The NPT is among the most unpopular treaties in force as it legitimates injustice at the international level. Some states are allowed to have nukes, others are not. According to Elbaradei, a new NPT should "totally abolish nuclear weapons." It should also be done within a set timeframe. Elbaradei's proposal is realistic. For instance, chemical weapons are banned by the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC). He rejects the idea that nuclear energy and nuclear proliferation are inter-connected. He emphasized that are no technical reasons to rely on Highly Enriched Uranium.According to Elbaradei, the United States does not have the moral authority to lead the charge against Iran, owing to its lack of commitment to nuclear disarmament. Javier Solana, the EU's foreign policy chief, has been appointed as the top negotiator of the Iranian crisis. He will present proposals agreed by six world powers in Vienna on Thursday. I seriously question whether Solana has the moral authority to lecture Iranian leaders on Nuclear Proliferation. Read full story

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CIA Resisted Arrest of Nuke Tech Broker Khan

Dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan has been demonized for selling nuclear technology around the world. In the post 9/11 era, the activities of his network raise fears that a terrorist group could manage to acquire and detonate a nuclear bomb in a major city. Although preventing nuclear proliferation is presented as a cornerstone of U.S. foreign policy, recent revelations indicate that the U.S. government helped Kahn to escape justice. On top of that, the CIA is suspected of trying to cover up this enormous mistake...

Ruud Lubbers, a former Dutch prime minister, revealed in August that the Netherlands was prepared to arrest Khan 30 years ago. Dutch authorities came close to arresting Khan twice, first in 1975 and later in 1986, but the CIA requested that they let him act freely. This revelation is embarrassing to both the CIA and Dutch minister of Justice P.H. Donner who was previously asked about possible CIA action concerning Khan, and told parliament that, "Nothing of the kind has happened. The CIA had nothing to do with it." Read full story

Saudi Arabia: The Next Nuclear Domino?

The Oct. 22-23, 2003 visit of Crown Prince Abdullah bin Abdulaziz to Pakistan intensified international concerns over possible Saudi-Pakistani nuclear cooperation. After the meeting, Prime Minister Jamali hosted a luncheon in honor of the Crown Prince. The luncheon was attended by Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, the official delegation accompanying the Crown Prince, and Pakistani ministers and senior officials. Following this visit, the Foreign Minister, Prince Saud Al-Faisal, said in a news conference, "Israeli-Indian defense cooperation would inflame the region, escalate the arms race, and damage the region's interests by triggering instability."In connection with this visit, the Washington Times reported that Pakistan and Saudi Arabia had concluded a secret agreement on nuclear cooperation. Pakistanis would provide the Saudis with nuclear-weapon technology in return for cheap oil. The Saudis provide Pakistan with an estimated US$1.2 billion of oil products annually, essentially free. Read full story

IISS Report on Nuclear Black Market Not Credible

The International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), a London-based think tank, has just completed a new report on the current status of Pakistan's nuclear program, the proliferation activities of the A.Q.Khan network and the illicit trade in fissile materials...

After reading carefully various statements made by Mr. Fitzpatrick, I have little choice but to disagree respectfully with most of his conclusions...

Specifically, I dispute the fact that the CIA acted as a rogue agency or failed to detect the birth of Pakistan's secret nuclear program. Instead, I argue that the CIA merely followed a policy established by the White House under President Carter by his national security adviser Mr. Zbigniew Brzezinski. Reaf full story