A little nuclear sanity

“For me, it is a different world”
—Mohamed ElBaradei (Director General, International Atomic Energy Agency)

Image via Wikipedia

This is change. And very good news.

I never have quite understood the logic of the USA’s stockpiling enough nukes to destroy the world six times over while insisting that nukes are bad and no one else should have them.

Nor have I understood how countries who sign treaties allowing  development of nuclear power stations have to endure threats of missile strikes from the USA or Israel for building them.

Good news is that it looks like Mr. Obama has decided fair deals and keeping our promises might be good policy, along with tightening up the rules by which all of us play.  Here’s what he’s proposed in Europe:

clipped from www.nytimes.com Mr. Obama was embracing a concept that the Bush administration had repeatedly rejected: That to counter proliferation, the United States could no longer simply ignore the fact that some countries — like Iran — were signatories to international treaties and could correctly claim a “right” to produce their own nuclear fuel. Image via Wikipedia Mr. Bush’s approach was to declare that some countries could simply never be trusted. Mr. Obama’s approach is to tighten the web of treaties, and amend the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty to make it harder for nations like Iran to limit inspections or refuse to answer questions about suspect documents. Mr. Obama even embraced two controversial treaties that many in Congress will oppose because of the limits they put on American nuclear strategy: One would ban nuclear testing, they other would cut off production of new fissile material. “For me, it is a different world,” Mohamed ElBaradei, the Egyptian-born director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, told a visitor to his office in Vienna on Monday, as Mr. Obama was finishing up his trip. “When was the last time you heard a president talk about moving toward zero nuclear weapons? Or fixing a nonproliferation system that is clearly falling apart?”

Indeed.

Showing some exemplary restraint of our own while putting some teeth into the mutually-agreed rule of law, might just be a step toward a world of greater sanity.

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• Obama Calls for World without Nuclear Weapons (firedoglake.com)
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• Iran tests its first nuclear power plant (cnn.com)
• Obama calls for reduction in nuclear weapons (cnn.com)
• Obama calls for a worldwide reduction of nuclear weapons. (slate.com)

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Iran demands UN nuclear Inspectors in Israel

clipped from www.haaretz.com For the first time, Iran directly confronts Israel on nuclear arms … Iran demanded that United Nations inspectors visit Israel to investigate its nuclear capability … at an assembly of the UN atomic watchdog in Vienna on Friday … United Nations officials at a 149-nation meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna said they had no memory of the two rival nations ever engaging each other directly at previous meetings … Israel is widely assumed to have the Middle East’s only atomic arsenal, though it has never confirmed or denied this … It is also one of just three states to shun the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, along with India and Pakistan. … Arab countries and Iran railed at “persistent international double standards and silence” over Israeli nuclear exclusivity in the Middle East. …

Does Iran have a point here?

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Tags: IAEA, Nuclear+non-proliferation, Israel+nuclear, Iran+nuclear, UN, Ahmedinejad, Zionism, Monte Asbury

A brief history of Iran-US relations, part 2: Ahmedinejad, nukes, and weapons

On February 27, my wife Lori and I were privileged to hear Juan Cole, the University of Michigan’s distinguished expert on Middle Eastern affairs, at a luncheon of the Iowa City Foreign Relations Council. It occured to me that notes from Prof. Cole’s brief lecture, with a few supporting resources, could provide a valuable structure for understanding the back-stories that make today’s crises add up.

Part 1 of this thread sketched Prof. Cole’s list of the foundational events of Iran-US relations during the 20th century. This post offers my notes from the remainder of the lecture, and Part 3 suggests an exit strategy from neighboring Iraq.

Quotation marks indicate quotes of Prof. Cole. Other comments contain links that serve as citations.

By all means, check out Prof. Cole’s Informed Comment: Thoughts on the Middle East, History, and Religion for scholarly reflection on news events as they happen.

* * *

2005: REFORMERS APPEAR IMPOTENT – HARDLINERS SURGE. As it became apparent that the reform movement was unable to make sweeping change (partly due to persistent resistance from the US), Iranians began to see it as impotent. [In a comment, (see below), a knowledgeable friend points out that the US President’s inclusion of Iran in his axis of evil comments – during a time of reform – unwittingly contributed to the downfall of the reform movement.] Hardliners closed it down, setting the stage for a resurgence of control by religious conservatives.

2005: AHMEDINEJAD ELECTED PRESIDENT. … A populist “dressed as a janitor,”…

What Iranians Want Americans to Know about Iran

Ever-thoughtful Krista Tippett (writing in Krista’s Journal) ticks off these qualifications of Douglas Johnston, a recent guest on American Public Media’s Speaking of Faith:

Douglas Johnston’s primary … contribution to world affairs in recent years has come through the work he describes in this program … which [is] deeply consonant with the urgent recommendations of the … Iraq Study Group. … Johnston has also orchestrated some of the highest level contacts … between religious and political leaders in Iran and the United States in recent years … I decided that it was finally time to interview him when I read a thought-provoking memo he crafted last year entitled, “What Iranians Want Americans to Know about Iran.”

I quote that memo here. I found it eye-opening. And I encourage a visit to SOF to learn more. To my Iranian friends – built-in experts – how did he do? What else would you want me to know? Thanks!

What Iranians Want Americans to Know about Iran
by Douglas M. Johnston

September 11, 2001
1. There were no Iranians or Shiite Muslims among the attackers on 9/11.
2. Iran was the first Islamic country to condemn the 9/11 attacks.
3. Iran cooperated with U.S. and coalition forces to defeat the Taliban in Afghanistan.
4. Al-Qaeda and the Taliban have never been friends of Iran, and Iran has never funded or supported either group. Arab countries supposedly friendly to the U.S. have provided major sources of funding for both.

Regional Context
1. Iran is a Shia Persian country in a hostile Sunni Arab neighborhood.
2. Iran has been a victim of Arab extremism.

Is Obama more style than substance? We consult Factcheck.org

It’s certainly a popular comment – but is it true? We went to Factcheck.org, an independent political accountability group. Their evaluation includes a quote from last night’s debate:

Clinton: “I was somewhat amused the other night when on one of the TV shows, one of Senator Obama’s supporters was asked to name one accomplishment of Senator Obama, and he couldn’t.”

And Factcheck analyzes:

Clinton is referring to Texas state Sen. Kirk Watson, who completely whiffed when Hardball’s Chris Matthews threw him a softball question. But Clinton is wrong to suggest that Watson’s inability to answer means that Obama lacks substantive accomplishments.

In fact, Obama sponsored more than 800 bills during his eight years as an Illinois state senator. And his U.S. Senate career, while brief, has been action-packed.

As for Obama’s list of his accomplishments, he’s right on every count. A Washington Post editorial credited Obama for helping to create “the strongest ethics legislation to emerge from Congress yet,” and the Coburn-Obama Act created a new Web site, USAspending.gov, which allows anyone to see where federal contracting and grant money is being spent. Moreover, it was an Obama-sponsored amendment that ended Walter Reed’s practice of requiring outpatient military personnel to pay for their own meals.

And as a state senator in Illinois, Obama championed a bill requiring the police to videotape prisoner interrogations. Although initially controversial, the measure passed the Senate unanimously; even Republicans conceded that the turnaround was largely Obama’s doing.

Finally, while Obama didn’t mention this one, we think it’s worth noting that the Lugar-Obama non-proliferation initiative provided funds for destroying nuclear weapons and for intercepting weapons of mass destruction.

In short, Clinton is wrong to suggest that Obama lacks a substantive legislative record.

Well now, voter friend: Do you think eight hundred bills in the Illinois legislature is “all talk?” Do you think making the Army pay for veterans’ meals during treatment is “all style?”

May I invite you to bookmark this clip? If you should enjoy responding to those ubiquitous allegations, it could come in handy.  And I suppose there are a thousand such posts, and people everywhere who are doing the same thing.

We get to be a part, you and I, in these glorious internet days, of creating a groundswell of truth where once facts were too hard to come by.  What a privilege!  What a time to be alive!

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Tags: Obama, accomplishments,, Clinton,, Obama,, presidential,, candidates, Monte Asbury