Rense.com




Why Is US Turning A Blind
Eye To Israel's Nukes?

By Aftab Kazmi|
Al Ain Bureau Chief
Gulf News.com
7-28-3


Following the military action against Iraq, people in many Arab and Muslim countries are fearing implementation of a biased U.S. agenda, especially when it comes to the Arab-Israel conflict or the capabilities of Muslim countries. Washington is now questioning the nuclear capabilities of several Muslim countries or their quest to acquire it.
 
Turning a blind eye towards the nuclear weapons programme of Israel, the U.S. administration considers it as a measure in "self-defence". For many Arab and Muslim countries this is a "double standard" and they are even viewing the roadmap for the Middle East suspiciously.
 
The failure of the Bush administration to justify action against Iraq, the botched efforts in finding WMD (Weapons of Mass Destruction), and confessions of wrong intelligence cannot bring a good name to the U.S. Polices, affecting the lives of millions of people, sustain international support until they hold legal and moral authenticity and the backing of a judicious and unbiased government.
 
"It is, of course, a double standard. Why do they [the U.S.] not object to the Israeli nuclear programme?" said Dr. Ibrahim A'shemsi, Assistant Professor at the Department of Mass Communication of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences at the UAE University in Al Ain.
 
The overt and covert pressure on Pakistan, Iran, and other countries is incomprehensible to Dr. A'shemsi who takes it as a biased policy that has been further fueling anti-American sentiments in the Muslim world.
 
The Americans are the only nuclear country that used this horrific power twice against Japan, killing innocent people. In the present international political and military scenario, no sane country can even think of bringing such a holocaust to mankind. It has, actually, been serving as a deterrent against war.
 
Nuclear technology is also being used for peaceful purposes in many countries around the world. "If it is a threat, all nuclear powers should first destroy their weapons and then stop others from developing it,' he said.
 
The Americans, he said, kept on saying Iraq possessed WMD and later used them as a ploy to thrust a military action upon it. "But did they find anything?" said Dr. A'shemsi, hinting at the U.S. intentions to take action that serves its own interest.
 
Dr. Husam Mohammed Sultan Al Ulama, Dean of the UAE University Libraries, said that Israel had widely been believed to have a sophisticated nuclear weapons programme. Israel has several nuclear facilities.
 
Two of Israel's facilities are well known to the world - a nuclear reactor at Dimona in the Negev desert, and a smaller nuclear research facility at Nahal Sorek south of Tel Aviv. Dimona is believed to house Israel's military nuclear capability.
 
He also declared U.S. policy as biased towards Arab and Muslim countries. One has to believe this way when the U.S. pronounced the Israeli programme as a measure for self-defence though it previously declared Israel a sensitive country for not signing the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).
 
The U.S. has been training Israeli nuclear scientists since the 1950s, and providing nuclear related technology, including a small research reactor in 1955 under the so-called "Atoms for Peace" programme. France also helped Israel in building a uranium reactor and plutonium reprocessing plant in the Negev desert, called Dimona.
 
Dr. Husam said countries in the Middle East have no intention to build nuclear weapons but want to maintain peace and security and utilise their potentials and modern technologies for the development of human resources.
 
Israel is the only country in the Middle East that has been developing nuclear weapons and it is an open secret. It possesses more than 200 nuclear warheads and six nuclear stations.
 
"One-sided pressure on Iran, Pakistan and other countries that have or are developing nuclear technologies is not fair. International regulations should be implemented equally on all countries of the world," he added.
 
The biased intentions are clearly evident from the U.S. act of leaving Israel aside and coming down heavily upon the nuclear programmes of first Iraq and then Iran, Syria, and Pakistan. "It means they [the U.S.] are giving a free hand to Israel to do what it wants to do," said Dr. Hussar.
 
In this way, the U.S. wants to ensure Israel is the only nuclear weapons possessing country in the Middle East. However, he warned that this would make the situation worse in the region. The U.S. knows clearly that Israel has a very strong defence industry and now has become the sixth largest weapons exporter in the world. It is even exporting defence equipment to America, the UK and other highly developed countries, he said.
 
Israel's military capabilities, expansionism, aggressive designs, and occupation of Arab lands in clear violation of the UN resolutions are enough evidence for proving it as a threat to Arab and Muslim countries. "Arab and Muslim countries do not constitute a threat to Israel in any way," he maintained.
 
Arab countries want peace in the region through a just solution of the Palestine problem. Several Arab and Muslim countries, such as Egypt, Jordan, Turkey, and Palestine National Authority, either have diplomatic relations or are in different agreements with Israel.
 
Talking about Israel-Syria relations, Dr. Husam said that Israel had been occupying Syrian territory of Golan Heights. The relations between these two countries can be normalised by vacating the occupied territory. "In my view, it's wrong to say that Arabs are a threat to Israel," he said.
 
People in Muslim countries believe that the U.S. and other major powers in the world should focus on solving political disputes of the Muslim countries. It is natural that there is smoke where there is fire. If the U.S. and other countries are facing Muslim anger, they should realise that crushing Muslim discontent through force or thrusting bias policies upon them would not bring peace and stability.
 
Pakistani President General Pervez Musharraf also advised the U.S. administration, during his recent visit to Washington, to solve the political dispute confronting the Muslim world for winning hearts and support of the Muslims.
 
http://www.gulfnews.com/Articles/Opinion.asp?ArticleID=93706

Disclaimer





MainPage
http://www.rense.com


This Site Served by TheHostPros