IAEA Chief El Baradei warns of "Crazies seeking war..."

[mhgaffney]

I find it curious that some rationalize US policy vis a vis Iran with the argument: "Well, maybe it'll bring them to the table." That's malarkey. Bush's actions show he is not interested in negotiations. What he wants is unconditional surrender, in other words, regime change in Tehran.

We all saw what happened in 2002 whan Saddam acquiesced to US pressure by admitting weapons inspectors. They found nothing, but, of course, this had no effect on the rush to war -- and Iran today is in a similar no win situation. Catch 22. They have no choice now but to hold firm.

The US claim that Iran's nuclear program is illegal because of a recent UN Sec Council resolution also deserves scrutiny. Of course it is not true. How could it be? The resolution, which the US rammed through, is in contradiction with our own Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT), which grants Iran the right as a signatory to develop nuclear power.

In fact it is the US -- not Iran -- that is flagrantly violating the NPT, given that since the 1990s we have spent more on our own nuclear weapons program than during the Cold War. Nor are we merely maintaining it. We are in fact pushing ahead -- developing new nuclear weapons. This is a flagrant violation of Article IV.

The whole world knows this. No doubt this is why international polls show that a majority of the citizens of the planet regard the US (and Israel) as the primary threat to world peace. Not Iran.

Clinton bears much of the blame for the current crisis. He failed to show leadership after the Cold War. He should have given strong direction to the US military -- instead he allowed the Pentagon to call the shots. The weapons labs were allowed to continue and even expand. In short, Clinton set the stage for Bush.
MHG

IAEA chief warns of "crazies" seeking Iran war

By Reuters

06/01/07 - -- LONDON, June 1 (Reuters) - The United Nations nuclear watchdog chief warned on Friday against the "new crazies" advocating military action to halt Iran's nuclear programme and said he did not want to see another war like that in Iraq.

"I wake every morning and see 100 Iraqis, innocent civilians, are dying," International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) director Mohamed ElBaradei said in an interview for BBC Radio.

"I have no brief other than to make sure we don't go into another war or that we go crazy into killing each other. You do not want to give additional argument to new crazies who say 'let's go and bomb Iran'," he said in a documentary, excerpts from which were published on the BBC's Web site in advance.

Tehran has ignored repeated warnings and resolutions sponsored by world powers in the United Nations Security Council demanding that it cease uranium enrichment.

It was ElBaradei's strongest warning yet against the use of force. He has urged Western powers to consider allowing Iran limited enrichment he believes would pose no bomb proliferation risk and avert a feared slide into conflict.

The powers have rejected his proposal.

Iran says it is pursuing a nuclear programme to provide electricity. The West believes it is trying to build a nuclear bomb and is gearing up to draft a third round of U.N. sanctions against the Islamic Republic.

Enrichment is a process of refining uranium for power plants, or if taken to a very high degree, atom bombs. A report by ElBaradei's IAEA last week said Iran was expanding a campaign to install 3,000 enrichment centrifuges by mid-summer, laying a basis for "industrial-scale" fuel production.

In the BBC interview ElBaradei said a nuclear-armed Iran would be terrible but added the jury was still out as to whether the country even wanted atomic weapons.

He said one could not "bomb knowledge". Asked who the "new crazies" were he replied: "Those who have extreme views and say the only solution is to impose your will by force."

ElBaradei angered the United States, Britain and France by calling for a face-saving compromise that would cap Iranian enrichment activity at its current modest levels.

Diplomats said those three countries, as well as Japan, sent envoys to stress to ElBaradei that the U. N. Security Council resolution urging an immediate halt to Iran's nuclear activities was law, adopted unanimously, and should enjoy his support.

In Germany earlier this week, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice indirectly chided ElBaradei by saying "the IAEA is not an agency that is negotiating with the Iranians. That is being done under a Security Council resolution by six states".

[bendog]

GD oil for food crooked pedophile

[Hotrod]

Sounds like that guy needs to be fired ASAP. He very well might fudge the facts on Iran to prevent another war. Thats simply not his job. Fire him and put Cheney on the job.

[cutthemdown]

Gaff why do you think Iran is enriching Uranium? Do you think it's only for energy? Or do you think they probably would like to build a few nukes? You can not like Bush and still support dismantling Iran's nuclear program you know. Soon Bush will be gone and a new President will have to deal with Iran. How would you like that President to go about this issue?

[Hotrod]

Originally Posted by cutthemdown

Gaff why do you think Iran is enriching Uranium? Do you think it's only for energy? Or do you think they probably would like to build a few nukes? You can not like Bush and still support dismantling Iran's nuclear program you know. Soon Bush will be gone and a new President will have to deal with Iran. How would you like that President to go about this issue?

Im pretty sure hes all for Iran having nukes.

[Rohirrim]

He said one could not "bomb knowledge". Asked who the "new crazies" were he replied: "Those who have extreme views and say the only solution is to impose your will by force."

I guess this wouldn't apply to Iran's Republican Guard, who are now kidnapping innocent people in order to stir up more trouble? If El Baradai doesn't want war in Iran, maybe he should convince Ahmadjihad to tone it down a bit?

[Bronco_Beerslug]

Originally Posted by cutthemdown

Gaff why do you think Iran is enriching Uranium? Do you think it's only for energy? Or do you think they probably would like to build a few nukes? You can not like Bush and still support dismantling Iran's nuclear program you know. Soon Bush will be gone and a new President will have to deal with Iran. How would you like that President to go about this issue?

You people who are scared of other countries coming into the nuclear age better get use to it. We have NO RIGHT to attack any country because they do. After all, we are ones who introduced it to everyone else.

[yavoon]

Originally Posted by cutthemdown

Gaff why do you think Iran is enriching Uranium? Do you think it's only for energy? Or do you think they probably would like to build a few nukes? You can not like Bush and still support dismantling Iran's nuclear program you know. Soon Bush will be gone and a new President will have to deal with Iran. How would you like that President to go about this issue?

iran is enriching uranium becaue the US is a criminal organization that rapes and plunders the rest of the planet. every US president of the 20th century should be tried and shot. and americans are racist ignorant sheeple.

[mhgaffney]

Originally Posted by cutthemdown

Gaff why do you think Iran is enriching Uranium? Do you think it's only for energy? Or do you think they probably would like to build a few nukes? You can not like Bush and still support dismantling Iran's nuclear program you know. Soon Bush will be gone and a new President will have to deal with Iran. How would you like that President to go about this issue?

OK. These are fair questions.

No one can know for certain. That's why we have the IAEA to conduct on site inspections.

I fully acknowledge that we were fooled by Saddam Hussein in 1991. Everyone was surprised -- including the CIA and the IAEA (based in Vienna) -- when we learned that Saddam had secretly put gether a massive Calutron program to enrich uranium. This was discovered by the UNSCOM inspectors (i.e., Scott Ritter) after the war. Calutrons are small cyclotrons. It's one way of enriching uranium -- in fact, it was developed by the USA.

This said, the only reason we didn't know about the Calutron program was because it had not gone on line yet. It was still in development. Calutrons use an enormous amunt of electricity and there is no doubt that our intelligence agencies would have discovered its fingerprint -- the heat alone is enormous -- long before Saddam had enriched enough uranium to make even one bomb.

In the 1990s the UNSCOM team completely dismantled Iraq's nuclear program. Down to the last nut and bolt. There were some documents outstanding -- but not much else. The UNSCOM team also accounted for just about every last Scud missile.

Unfortunately, the tremendous success of the UNSCOM effort did not become widely known until after the second Gulf War. In 2001 I - like many people -- was convinced that Saddam had reconstituted his nuke program. But it wasn't true. Ritter is the best source on this because he was there and knows what went down. Unfortunately, his published accounts did not become available until AFTER the second Gulf War.

You also need to know that after the 1991 war the IAEA -- shocked like everyone else -- put together a new inspection protocol -- much tougher than anything in the past. They now have the tools to detect cheaters. It would be very difficult for a country like Iran -- not inconceivable -- but very difficult to evade the current IAEA inspection effort.

Despite what you may think -- or heard on FOX -- Iran is not in violation of the NPT. You can check statements by El Baradei at the IAEA site.. He's made many statements to this effect. He knows of what he speaks. IAEA inspectors have been all over Iran -- to every single site to which they sought access. I'm not saying Iran's record is perfect or that there is no cause for concern. I do not personally want to see an Iranian BOMB -- nor do I support nuclear energy. I support clean and abundant alternatives. If we'd invested the money we've blown in Iraq on hydrogen fuels we'd be there now.

No country likes to have international inspectors poking around. Everyone regards this as a violation of national sovereignty. But Iran has allowed the IAEA to go anywhere -- and if Iran was secretly building bombs the IAEA would have detected it.

Compare and contrast: Neither the USA or Israel have EVER allowed inspectors into our nuclear sites. Israel did for awhile -- allowed US inspections back in the 1960s when people were more complacent -- and guess what? they deceived us, their best ally. But that kind of cheating would not be possible today, given the new tools used by the IAEA.

As I've said many times, you don't lead the world by saying one thing and doing another. Our leaders are not only hypocrites -- with no credibility, they are also war criminals and must be held accountable for their crimes in Iraq and Afghanistan. Spreading radiological poisons across the planet for profit is a war crime in my book. So is the murder of 600,000 people.

If you want fewer nukes in the world you must practice what you preach. The US Senate could lead the way -- show US resolve by ratifying the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty. The next president -- hopefully Ron Paul or Kucinich -- could order a stop to the current US nuclear weapons and Star Wars programs. That would help rebuild confidence in America.

At the present I'm afraid we have none.