@@ U.S. has violated Iran's NPT rights! @@
Arash
May 9, 2005
Badgering the NPT
Dr. James Gordon Prather
Nuclear weapons physicist
In her opening statement to the Sixth Review Conference of the Treaty on the
Nonproliferation of Nuclear Weapons held at UN Headquarters five years ago (2000),
Secretary of State Madeleine Albright (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madeleine_Albright)
encouraged conferees to focus on three key issues: how the treaty is working to:
(a) prevent nuclear proliferation,
(b) advance nuclear disarmament, and
(c) enhance cooperation in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Condoleezza_Rice) didn't
bother to address or even attend the Seventh Review Conference being held this month.
Instead, she sent some mid-level State Department weenie you've probably never heard of
named Stephen Rademaker (http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/biog/12813.htm) to instruct the
conferees.
Before revealing what Stephen Rademaker directed the conferees to focus on, it might be
useful to provide some excerpts from the Sixth Review Conference Final Report
(http://www.basicint.org/nuclear/NPT/2000revcon/finaltext.htm).
"The Conference recalls that the overwhelming majority of states entered into legally
binding commitments not to receive, manufacture, or otherwise acquire nuclear weapons or
other nuclear explosive devices in the context – inter alia – of the corresponding legally
binding commitments by the nuclear-weapon states to nuclear disarmament in accordance with
the treaty".
In other words, the overwhelming majority of NPT signatories thought they had obtained –
among other things – a legally binding commitment by the U.S., Russia, China, France, and
the UK to get rid of their nuke stockpiles.
"The Conference emphasizes that measures should be taken to ensure that the rights of
all states parties under the provisions of the preamble and the articles of the treaty are
fully protected and that no state party is limited in the exercise of these rights in
accordance with the treaty".
In other words, President Clinton violated Iran's NPT rights when he – among other
things – strong-armed President Yeltsin into canceling the sale of a Russian
gas-centrifuge uranium-enrichment plant to Iran.
"The Conference reaffirms that the IAEA is the competent authority responsible to verify
and assure, in accordance with the Statute of the IAEA and the IAEA's safeguards system,
compliance with its safeguards agreements with states parties, undertaken in fulfillment
of their obligations under Article III, paragraph 1 of the treaty
(http://disarmament2.un.org/wmd/npt/npttext.html), with a view to preventing diversion of
nuclear energy from peaceful uses to nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices.
"It is the conviction of the Conference that nothing should be done to undermine the
authority of the IAEA in this regard.
"States parties that have concerns regarding noncompliance with the safeguards
agreements of the treaty by the states parties should direct such concerns, along with
supporting evidence and information, to the IAEA to consider, investigate, draw
conclusions, and decide on necessary actions in accordance with its mandate".
In other words, the IAEA is solely responsible for deciding whether "source and special
fissionable materials" are being used by Iran "in furtherance of any military purpose".
So as Stephen Rademaker addresses the 2005 Review Conference, keep in mind that the United
States has unquestionably violated the NPT – by denying Iran's "inalienable" rights under
the treaty – but as best IAEA Director General Mohamed ElBaradei
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohamed_ElBaradei) as can determine, Iran has not.
Quoth Stephen Rademaker (http://www.un.int/usa/05_089.htm):
"Today, the treaty is facing the most serious challenge in its history due to instances
of noncompliance. Although the vast majority of member states have lived up to their NPT
nonproliferation obligations that constitute the treaty's most important contribution to
international peace and security, some have not.
"Indeed, Mr. President, some continue to use the pretext of a peaceful nuclear program
to pursue the goal of developing nuclear weapons. We must confront this challenge in order
to ensure that the treaty remains relevant. This Review Conference provides an opportunity
for us to demonstrate our resolve by reaffirming our collective determination that
noncompliance with the treaty's core nonproliferation norms is a clear threat to
international peace and security.
"For almost two decades, Iran has conducted a clandestine nuclear weapons program, aided
by the illicit network of A. Q. Khan.
"Britain, France, and Germany, with our support, are seeking to reach a diplomatic
solution to the Iranian nuclear problem, a solution that given the history of clandestine
nuclear weapons work in that country, must include permanent cessation of Iran's
enrichment and reprocessing efforts, as well as dismantlement of equipment and facilities
related to such activity".
So what is Mohamed ElBaradei going to do about Iran's "nuclear weapons!" program? Quoth
the director general:
"I have seen no nuclear weapons program in Iran. What I have seen is that Iran is trying
to gain access to nuclear enrichment technology, and so far there is no danger from Iran".
Dr. Prather's radio interviews
May 7, 2005
http://www.weekendinterviewshow.com/audio/prather4.mp3
April 9, 2005
http://www.weekendinterviewshow.com/audio/prather3.mp3
February 5, 2005
http://www.weekendinterviewshow.com/audio/prather2.mp3
December 4, 2004
http://www.weekendinterviewshow.com/audio/prather.mp3
February 16, 2005
Part 1
http://www.charlesgoyette.com/archive/media/2005-02-16-Charles-04.mp3
Part 2
http://www.charlesgoyette.com/archive/media/2005-02-16-Charles-05.mp3
* Physicist James Gordon Prather has served as a policy implementing official for national
security-related technical matters in the Federal Energy Agency, the Energy Research and
Development Administration, the Department of Energy, the Office of the Secretary of
Defense and the Department of the Army. Dr. Prather also served as legislative assistant
for national security affairs to U.S. Sen. Henry Bellmon, R-Okla. -- ranking member of the
Senate Budget Committee and member of the Senate Energy Committee and Appropriations
Committee. Dr. Prather had earlier worked as a nuclear weapons physicist at Lawrence
Livermore National Laboratory (http://www.llnl.gov) in California and Sandia National
Laboratory (http://www.sandia.gov) in New Mexico.
http://www.antiwar.com/prather