Google Groups no longer supports new Usenet posts or subscriptions. Historical content remains viewable.

Dismiss

@@ AIPAC statement on the U.S. administration's policy on Iran @@

3 views

Skip to first unread message

Arash

unread,

Dec 3, 2005, 4:20:31 AM12/3/05

Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA)
December 2, 2005

With time short on Iran nukes, AIPAC criticizes Bush approach

By Ron Kampeas
rkampeas[AT]jta.org
http://www.jta.org/page_bio.asp

Share your feedback with JTA's editors in New York: feedback[AT]jta.org

http://www.jta.org/storage/articleimages/16084.jpg
An aerial photo shows the uranium enrichment plant at Natanz, Iran, in August 2002.

Washington — As time dwindles for diplomatic efforts to curtail Iran’s drive for
nuclear weapons, the Israeli lobby (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AIPAC) in Washington
is criticizing the Bush administration’s handling of the issue.

The United States has endorsed a European Union plan that would allow Iran to
continue its nuclear development as long as it leaves the final stages of uranium
enrichment to Russia.

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said the hope is that such a deal would keep
Iran from bringing its uranium to weapon-grade level.

“We’re prepared to see if the Russians can explore something that may bring the
Iranians around to the recognition that they cannot enrich and reprocess on their
territory, that they have a credibility problem with the international community as
to the fuel cycle”, Rice told USA Today last week. “We’ll see whether it works”.

Within days of Rice’s interview, the "American Israel Public Affairs Committee",
AIPAC (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AIPAC) delivered a rare public criticism
(http://www.aipac.org/presspage.html) of the Bush administration.

“Last week’s decision allowed Iran to win a critical round in its game of
cat-and-mouse with the international community”, AIPAC said in an email earlier this
week headlined “IMPORTANT — AIPAC press statement critical of Administration’s recent
decisions on Iran policy”.
http://www.aipac.org/PDFdocs/Press_Iran%20Press%20Statement.pdf [50KB PDF]

AIPAC and Israel had hoped that the United States would nudge the International
Atomic Energy Agency (AIPAC), the UN nuclear watchdog, into referring Iran to the UN
Security Council last week for sanctions.

The IAEA board met last week in Vienna and deferred a decision on whether to refer
Iran to the Security Council while Britain, Germany and France — the “EU3” — try to
negotiate with Iran.

The negotiations are to begin within two weeks, and no one expects the IAEA to
consider the matter again until at least February.

But that could be too late, according to an assessment by Major General Aharon
Zeevi-Farkash (http://www.sedmoykanal.com/data/images/2002/01/24/farkash-300.jpg),
Israel’s military intelligence chief.

“If, by the end of March”, the IAEA board “does not succeed in transferring the issue
to the Security Council, it will be possible to say that the diplomatic effort has
failed”, General Aharon Zeevi-Farkash reportedly told the Knesset’s (Israeli
parliament) Defense and Foreign Affairs Committee this week.

In a deal brokered last year by the EU 3, Iran agreed to shut down its nuclear
fuel-cycle activities. That ended this summer after critical EU and IAEA reports
suggested that Iran was not allowing inspectors full access, and uncovered earlier
deceptions by Iran.

Iran defiantly resumed its nuclear fuel cycle; moreover, its new president, Mahmoud
Ahmadinejad, is a radical who has ratcheted up anti-Israel rhetoric, publicly calling
for Israel’s destruction.

AIPAC and Israel are concerned that allowing Iran any fuel-enrichment capability
would bring it dangerously close to weaponization if the EU-Russia deal falls
through.

“The Russian proposal allowing Iran to possess a key step in the nuclear fuel cycle
is a dangerous concession made at a time of continued Iranian intransigence”, AIPAC
said in a memo accompanying its statement.

Senior Israeli officials brought the matter up in a strategic dialogue session this
week with their U.S. counterparts.

The Americans, headed by Ambassador R. Nicholas Burns
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R._Nicholas_Burns), an undersecretary of state, said
they agreed that Iran ultimately should face sanctions, but didn’t want to bring the
matter to the Security Council until they were certain that Russia and China would
not veto sanctions.

There likely would be a majority on the Security Council for sanctions, but Russia
and China — who are wary of nuclear oversight because of their own nuclear programs —
have indicated they would exercise their veto right. The U.S. believes that bringing
Russia into the mix would give it a motive to back sanctions eventually.

Israel and AIPAC worry that could take too long, and they favor going to the Security
Council now, if only to show Iran how serious they are.

Moreover, the United States believes that a warning statement from the Security
Council — rather than full sanctions — likely would not be vetoed now.

Getting Russia and China on board with such a warning now would make it harder for
them to veto sanctions later if Iran continues to defy warnings, the thinking goes.

Another option is to operate outside the UN framework. Europeans have suggested they
would consider sanctions if the United States presses hard; Iran does a great deal of
business with Europe, and such sanctions could have some bite.

Another factor informing resistance to the EU-Russian formula is that advocates of
sanctions do not regard Russia as entirely trustworthy when it comes to Iran. Russia
has an array of defense and nuclear investments in Iran, and Russian media reported
Friday that Russia and Iran have just signed a $1 billion missile deal.

AIPAC prides itself on its close working relationship with the Bush administration,
and officials at the pro-Israel group suggested they would not have issued such
public criticism if they didn’t consider the matter urgent.

Iran has been a top AIPAC priority for more than a decade, and the Jewish
organization believes Iran poses a grave danger to Israel.

If it comes down to a political battle, signs are that AIPAC could muster strong
support in Congress to press the White House to demand sanctions on Iran.

Florida Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ileana_Ros-Lehtinen , email:
Ileana.Ros-Lehtinen[AT]mail.house.gov), chairwoman of the U.S. House of
Representatives’ Middle East subcommittee, signaled outspoken opposition to the
EU-Russia deal weeks ago.

“It is baffling that the Europeans still seek to appease and arm the terrorist regime
in Tehran”, she said in a November 10 statement. “To add insult to injury, they want
to entrust Russia, a nation with an already dubious record regarding Iran’s nuclear
and missile proliferation, to process Iran’s uranium”.

Congresswoman Ros-Lehtinen noted that her own Iran sanctions bill has the support of
three quarters of her House colleagues, though she’s trying to line up additional
co-sponsors.

The House version of "The Iran Freedom Support Act" H.R. 282
(http://www.govtrack.us/congress/billtext.xpd?bill=h109-282), whose Senate companion
S. 333 (http://www.govtrack.us/congress/billtext.xpd?bill=s109-333) would force the
U.S. president to rule within 90 days on whether a foreign company has invested more
than $20 million in Iran's energy sector, a violation of existing sanctions law.

“By allowing Iran nuclear capabilities, the Europeans are giving the match to the
pyromaniac”, she said.

* Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) is a Global news agency dedicated to serving the
Jewish People.
http://www.jta.org/page_view_story.asp?strwebhead=AIPAC+blasts+administration+on+Iran&intcategoryid=3&SearchOptimize=Jewish+News

American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC)
November 30, 2005

AIPAC STATEMENT ON THE ADMINISTRATION’S POLICY ON IRAN

"Last week, the Bush Administration changed course and though it had the majority
support at the IAEA Board of Governors to refer Iran to the UN Security Council, it
chose not to do so. AIPAC disagrees with this Administration decision, and urges it
to work with like-minded friends to seek immediate UN Security Council consideration
of Iran's Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT) violations.

"Last week's decision allowed Iran to win a critical round in its game of cat and
mouse with the international community. In September, the IAEA found Iran in
violation of its NPT commitments. Since then, Iran again began converting uranium at
the Isfahan nuclear facility and Iran admitted to being in possession of a blueprint
for the final steps to complete a nuclear weapon.

Moreover, the Iranian regime's vitriolic rhetoric against the United States and its
allies clearly shows the growing threat to international peace and security posed by
Iran.

"In a response to Iran's defiance, the EU and the U.S. supported a Russian proposal
that would allow Iran to manufacture all but the final element of the nuclear fuel
cycle domestically.

"We disagree with these decisions and are concerned that these efforts will
facilitate Iran's quest for nuclear weapons, hampering the diplomatic effort to stop
Iran before it is too late. This poses a severe danger to the United States and our
allies, and puts America and our interests at risk.

"It is high time to refer Iran to the UN Security Council. The time for action is
here".
http://www.aipac.org/presspage.html

Iranian American Jewish Federation (IAJF)
An affiliated organization of Jewish Federation Council
Elias Eshaghian
Sam Kermanian (Secretary General)
1317 Crescent Hghts Blvd.
Los Angeles, California 90046
Tel: 1-323-654-4700
Fax:1-323-654-1791

Committee for Religious Minority Rights in Iran (CRMRI)
An affiliated organization of Iranian American Jewish Federation
President of the Iranian Jewish Public Affairs Committee (IJPAC)
Pooya Dayanim
9454 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 650
Beverly Hills, California 90212
email: Info[AT]Iranianjew.org

American Israel Political Action Committee (AIPAC)
440 First St NW, Suite 600
Washington D.C. 20001
Tel: 1-202-639-5200
Fax: 1-202-638-0680
email: update[AT]aipac.org
email: nyreg[AT]aipac.org
email: marreg[AT]aipac.org
email: midreg[AT]aipac.org
email: mwreg[AT]aipac.org
email: nereg[AT]aipac.org
email: ncareg[AT]aipac.org
email: scareg[AT]aipac.org
email: arizona[AT]aipac.org
email: sereg[AT]aipac.org
email: nevada[AT]aipac.org
email: swreg[AT]aipac.org
email: washstate[AT]aipac.org
email: colorado[AT]aipac.org