THE HANDSTAND

DECEMBER 2005

UAE Warns Against The Danger Of Allowing Israel To Maintain Its Nuclear Arsenal
Source: Emirates News Agency
URL Source: http://wam.org.ae/NASApp/cs/Content ... e5a5&pagename=WAM%2FWamLocEnew
Published: Oct 20, 2005
Author: WAM
Post Date: 2005-10-20 15:35:55 by Brian S
2 Comments


New York, 19 Oct.2005(WAM)--The United Arab Emirates - UAE has warned against the danger of allowing Israel to maintain its nuclear arsenal at a time when peace and stability in the region are at a stake.

+Despite incessant efforts by Arab countries, including the UAE, to make the Middle Eastern region a nuclear-free area, global peace and stability are a stake as a result of the Israeli intransigence to maintain its nuclear arsenal+, said Hend Abdul Aziz Nasser Al Owais, member of the UAE delegation to the UN.

The UAE also urged the international community to back two proposals being put forward by the Arab bloc at the UN to address the danger of continued Israeli possession of weapons of mass destruction. One of the proposals is create a nuke-free zone . The other being a commitment by UN member states to halt all forms of assistance related to Israeli nuclear programme as provided for in the relevant UN resolutions.

The UAE also expressed concern over the exemption of Israel from signing the non-proliferation treaty as well as from subjecting its nuclear installations to UN inspections.

"The failure of the international community to establish a nuke-free zone in the Middle East stems from the very policy of double standards that is being practiced", said Hend, adding that this failure has emboldened Israel to further develop its nuclear programme. Other countries also sought to revive their nuclear aspirations on the basis of security deterrence, she said.

"The international community must fulfill its obligations with respect to bringing about peace and stability in the Middle East by forcing Israel to dismantle its nukes and open up its installations for inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency", said Hend. She pointed out that all countries must bring pressure to bear on Israeli to respect the international will and sign the non-proliferation treaty or else face imposition of sanctions, particularly economic sanctions.

UN member states, particularly nuclear powers should also cease their technical , financial, scientific and nuclear-related assistance to Israel, she said.

"Such measures will restore confidence in the region and promote peace and stability. It will also help in the efforts to stop such weapons from falling into the hands of terrorist groups", said Hend in remarks during the discussions of the General Assembly Committee on nuclear weapons.

And now a month later:
U.S.-Funded Report Urges Israel To Take First Step Toward Nuclear Disarmament

By ORI NIR November 25, 2005
http://www.forward.com/main/printer-friendly.php?id=6924

WASHINGTON - A new study commissioned and partially funded by the Pentagon urges Israel to take the first step in launching a nuclear disarmament process in the Middle East, arguing that such a move is the only way to block Iran's development of weapons of mass destruction and head off a regional arms race.

The report, titled "Getting Ready for a Nuclear-Ready Iran" and published last week by the U.S. Army War College, argues that Tehran's march toward nuclear weapons cannot be stopped by any of the military or diplomatic options currently on the table. Nuclear nonproliferation expert Henry Sokolsky and Iran specialist Patrick Clawson edited the 314-page document.

"Iran is now no more than 12 to 48 months from acquiring a nuclear bomb," wrote Sokolsky, executive director of the Nonproliferation Policy Education Center. He added that Tehran "lacks for nothing technologically or materially to produce" such a weapon.

The report, which states that it doses not necessarily reflect the official policy or the position of the Department of Defense, argues that America and its allies should prepare for a long-term "competition" with Iran, which will resemble Washington's Cold War against the Soviet Union and hopefully end with the emergence of a more open, less belligerent Iranian regime.

The report all but rules out the most commonly discussed policy options for stopping Iran's nuclear quest: bombing or bribing the Islamic Republic. Both options are likely to fail and could backlash with disastrous repercussions, the study concludes. Instead, the report recommends that the United States encourage Israel to "mothball" its Dimona nuclear reactor and agree to international monitoring. If other Middle Eastern countries, including Egypt or Algeria, reciprocate, a regional halt to the production of fissile material could isolate Iran, the report suggests.

The report argues that once other countries in the region take similar steps to suspend their own nuclear-related activities, Israel could offer to close the Dimona reactor and place the nuclear material produced there under the supervision of a trusted international ally. If Israel's neighbors - including Iran - reciprocate, Jerusalem would dismantle the Dimona reactor and hand over its weapons-usable fissile material to a third party, under the supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency.

Sokolsky told the Forward that this proposal is based on the assumption that Iran's current efforts to develop nuclear weapons would lead other countries, including Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Algeria, to consider similar steps.

"You would have a whole neighborhood of folks poised, at any time, to go nuclear," Sokolsky said. He acknowledged that the call for Israel to suspend activity at the Dimona reactor was controversial, but he said, "We know what the alternative is, and you don't win that one."

A Middle East with yet more nuclear powers could turn into "a big, big death bath," he warned.

The idea, Sokolsky said, is not for Israel unilaterally to give up its nuclear weapons, hoping that others will, too. Instead, he said, Israel simply would take a small, reversible first step in an effort to promote a reciprocal process that would de-escalate the region's nuclear arms race.

Israel never confirmed officially that it has nuclear weapons, but numerous credible reports indicate that it has a sizable arsenal of nuclear bombs as well as the missiles and aircrafts to deliver them to any destination in the Middle East. The Israeli nuclear program is commonly seen as deterring conventional attacks from hostile neighbors, but some observers say it may also have motivated other countries to pursue a nuclear option.

Sokolsky said that he has discussed the idea with Israeli officials, who rejected it.

An Israeli official, speaking on condition of anonymity, dismissed the idea that Israel would lead a regional nuclear disarmament process in reaction to a nuclear-ready Iran. Israel's position, the official said, is that a nuclear-free Middle East could be achieved only through comprehensive regional peace treaties.

Shlomo Brom, the former director of strategic planning in the Israeli army's general staff, also dismissed the idea. "Knowing what the Israeli establishment thinks, there is no chance for this to be considered," said Brom, who is a guest scholar at the U.S. Institute of Peace. The institute is a think tank funded by Congress. "Israel will always be on the losing side when a disarmament agreement is signed, simply because we adhere to agreements and the other side does not," Brom said.

Despite such comments, Clawson, the co-editor of the recent report, told the Forward that Jerusalem has signaled it does not reject the proposal completely.

According to Clawson, deputy director of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, it is important for Israel to find ways to be seen as striving for a peaceful Middle East, "where nuclear weapons are not necessary in order to preserve the security of the State of Israel."

Earlier this year, Israel agreed to participate in a U.N.-sponsored seminar to discuss what Middle Eastern countries could learn from the success of other nuclear-free zones worldwide. The seminar, a brainchild of the director general of the atomic agency, Muhammad ElBaradei, ended up failing because of conditions posed by Arab governments.

Rice dismisses EU-US nuclear offer to Tehran

11.11.2005 - 09:44 CET | By Lisbeth Kirk

US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice has denied there is any EU-US backing of a Russian proposal to resolve a long-running nuclear dispute with Iran.

"There is no US-European proposal to the Iranians, I want to say that categorically," Mrs Rice told reporters, according to the BBC.

"There isn't and there won't be. We are not parties to these negotiations and we don't intend to become parties to the negotiations."

The proposal would permit Iran to conduct very limited nuclear activities on its own soil, while the enrichment of uranium would take place in Russia.

Without a new proposal to break the current impasse over Tehran's nuclear program, the dispute may be referred to the UN Security Council for possible sanctions to be imposed on Iran.

Iran has insisted that its nuclear program is entirely intended for peaceful purposes.

Deep divisions
The latest proposal was discussed at length earlier this week at a meeting between Condoleezza Rice and Mohamed ElBaradei, the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, the United Nations' nuclear monitoring agency, the New York Times reported.

But the new proposal has deeply divided the Bush administration, according to the paper.

"The problem with this offer is that if the Iranians have a secret enrichment plant someplace that we don't know about, we're leaving them with the raw material they need," a senior American official was quoted saying.

The US fears Iran could use the highly enriched uranium to build a nuclear weapon.

Only a few weeks ago Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad sparked massive international protests, when he stated that Israel should be "wiped off the map".

His remarks fuelled efforts by the US and the EU to have the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) refer Iran to the UN security council at its meeting in Vienna later this month.

France, Germany and the UK – the EU 3 – signed a deal with Iran in Paris last November under which Tehran agreed to halt enrichment while negotiations continue.

But Iran rejected the EU’s trade-based proposal over the summer and resumed enrichment at its plant in Isfahan, claiming a right to nuclear energy under international law.