Heavy
06-20-2003, 03:53 PM
Countries around the world, clean up your act. From MSNBC.com:
"THE PRESIDENT HAS repeatedly said that all options are on the table, but that is not only not our preference, it is far, far from our minds," Bolton told the British Broadcasting Corp. On Thursday, President Bush also toughened his public stance, saying that the U.S. would "not tolerate" a nuclear weapons program in Iran.
The speedy decline of the U.S. effort to win broader support illustrates an important fact: Iran is viewed quite differently from Iraq or even North Korea by most of the world's nations. In spite of its record as a supporter of terrorist groups and its repressive Islamic leadership, it is more democratic than many states that the United States regards as allies, and its strong oil and energy industries make it an attractive investment opportunity.
DOWNHILL FAST
As recently as a week ago, administration officials were citing support from Russia, the Group of Eight industrialized nations and the United Nations International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) as proof of the progress being made by the U.S.-led effort to curb nuclear proliferation, which Bush has described as "topping the agenda" now that Saddam Hussein has been toppled.
But since then, across the board, actions the U.S. had hoped would lead to a strong condemnation of Iran for refusing to allow open inspections of all suspect nuclear facilities have fallen short.
http://a799.g.akamai.net/3/799/388/88dbffca6e0641/msnbc.com/news/1309601.gif
A U.S. diplomat in New York, who asked to remain anonymous, said the U.S. had hoped the IAEA would declare Iran in "non-compliance" with the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, to which Tehran is a signatory. Such a move automatically places the issue on the agenda of the U.N. Security Council, which is empowered to impose economic sanctions and take other steps. The U.S. used similar pressure to win an IAEA condemnation of North Korea's nuclear activities. But North Korea's case is more clear: It formally withdrew from the nuclear treaty last year and has since publicly acknowledged its nuclear weapons research.
Toward Iran, however, "there just isn't any support for this, for whatever reason," the U.S. diplomat says. IAEA Director Mohammed ElBaradei, whose agency issued a report critical of Iran for refusing IAEA requests for open inspections at some sites, "still hopes he can convince the Iranians to let his guys in," the diplomat says.
A VARIETY OF OBSTACLES
The U.S. campaign to isolate Iran is running up against multiple troubles, analysts say. The most important, according to a U.N. diplomat, is the continued anger directed at the U.S. for its decision to deal with Iraq unilaterally.
"A lot of member states were willing to sanction some kind of action, but only after nuclear inspections ran their course," the diplomat says. "The fact that no banned weapons have turned up isn't helping. . Some are saying, `Why believe them this time?'"
That attitude, for instance, appears to have persuaded more moderate members of the IAEA board to side with its director, ElBaradei, in seeking to win full cooperation from Iran before doing anything that might be seized upon by the U.S. as an opening for military action.
fact file
Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty
Member states Treaty articles The IAEA
The Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty was established in 1970 with the purpose of stopping the spread of nuclear weapons. Under the treaty, the five nuclear weapons states -- the United States, Russia, China, France and the United Kingdom -- agree to pursue general disarmament. Signatories from non-nuclear weapons states agree to forgo nuclear weapons acquisition or development.
With 187 signatories, the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty is the largest nuclear weapons treaty in the world. But the NPT is not universal. In January 2003 North Korea pulled out of the treaty, saying that the IAEA was "a tool for executing the U.S. hostile policy."
"THE PRESIDENT HAS repeatedly said that all options are on the table, but that is not only not our preference, it is far, far from our minds," Bolton told the British Broadcasting Corp. On Thursday, President Bush also toughened his public stance, saying that the U.S. would "not tolerate" a nuclear weapons program in Iran.
The speedy decline of the U.S. effort to win broader support illustrates an important fact: Iran is viewed quite differently from Iraq or even North Korea by most of the world's nations. In spite of its record as a supporter of terrorist groups and its repressive Islamic leadership, it is more democratic than many states that the United States regards as allies, and its strong oil and energy industries make it an attractive investment opportunity.
DOWNHILL FAST
As recently as a week ago, administration officials were citing support from Russia, the Group of Eight industrialized nations and the United Nations International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) as proof of the progress being made by the U.S.-led effort to curb nuclear proliferation, which Bush has described as "topping the agenda" now that Saddam Hussein has been toppled.
But since then, across the board, actions the U.S. had hoped would lead to a strong condemnation of Iran for refusing to allow open inspections of all suspect nuclear facilities have fallen short.
http://a799.g.akamai.net/3/799/388/88dbffca6e0641/msnbc.com/news/1309601.gif
A U.S. diplomat in New York, who asked to remain anonymous, said the U.S. had hoped the IAEA would declare Iran in "non-compliance" with the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, to which Tehran is a signatory. Such a move automatically places the issue on the agenda of the U.N. Security Council, which is empowered to impose economic sanctions and take other steps. The U.S. used similar pressure to win an IAEA condemnation of North Korea's nuclear activities. But North Korea's case is more clear: It formally withdrew from the nuclear treaty last year and has since publicly acknowledged its nuclear weapons research.
Toward Iran, however, "there just isn't any support for this, for whatever reason," the U.S. diplomat says. IAEA Director Mohammed ElBaradei, whose agency issued a report critical of Iran for refusing IAEA requests for open inspections at some sites, "still hopes he can convince the Iranians to let his guys in," the diplomat says.
A VARIETY OF OBSTACLES
The U.S. campaign to isolate Iran is running up against multiple troubles, analysts say. The most important, according to a U.N. diplomat, is the continued anger directed at the U.S. for its decision to deal with Iraq unilaterally.
"A lot of member states were willing to sanction some kind of action, but only after nuclear inspections ran their course," the diplomat says. "The fact that no banned weapons have turned up isn't helping. . Some are saying, `Why believe them this time?'"
That attitude, for instance, appears to have persuaded more moderate members of the IAEA board to side with its director, ElBaradei, in seeking to win full cooperation from Iran before doing anything that might be seized upon by the U.S. as an opening for military action.
fact file
Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty
Member states Treaty articles The IAEA
The Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty was established in 1970 with the purpose of stopping the spread of nuclear weapons. Under the treaty, the five nuclear weapons states -- the United States, Russia, China, France and the United Kingdom -- agree to pursue general disarmament. Signatories from non-nuclear weapons states agree to forgo nuclear weapons acquisition or development.
With 187 signatories, the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty is the largest nuclear weapons treaty in the world. But the NPT is not universal. In January 2003 North Korea pulled out of the treaty, saying that the IAEA was "a tool for executing the U.S. hostile policy."