Clear the Middle East of All Nuclear Weapons!

As the drums of a military strike against Iran are getting louder and louder, the leaders of the United States and Israel, in a good-cop/bad-cop style of approach, are trying to present the U.S. and Israeli public opinion with an apparently “inevitable” — but certainly false — choice. While the “bad-cop” Israel is threatening Iran with an immanent Bush-style “preemptive strike,” the Obama Administration, trying to look like a “good-cop,” is pretending to be “opposed” to such a unilateral military action on the part of Israel, while forcing other governments into taking part in the imposition of devastating economic sanctions on Iran and its people.

All this is done in the name of forcing Iran to stop developing its nuclear program. Yet, it is apparent to anyone who knows even the slightest about the U.S.-Israeli policy in the Middle East that the objective of both approaches is none other than imposing a pro-West “regime change” in Iran and establishing an imperialist “pax-Americana” on the whole of the region.
In doing so, both the U.S. Administration and the Israeli government are distracting the public eye from several very significant facts:

1. Iran is a non-nuclear state and a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). It is under the supervision of the United Nations’ International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the United Nations’ enforcer of the NPT. Iran has repeatedly stated that its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes and not for military ends. There exists no evidence that Iran is developing nuclear weapons. U.S. Secretary of Defense, Leon Panetta, has himself publicly conceded that, “there is no evidence that Iran has a nuclear weapon.”

2. Israel is a nuclear state and an open foe of the Iranian regime, with an estimated 200-400 nuclear weapons. It has refused to join the NPT. There is no UN supervision, let alone control, over its nuclear activities. It has threatened Iran with military attack many times.

3. United States is a nuclear state with more than 10 thousand nuclear weapons. It has, so far, not allowed any inspection of its nuclear facilities by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). U.S. is the only nuclear state that has ever used nuclear weapons against other countries (exploded two nuclear bombs on Japan, used uranium-enriched weapons in Iraq and possibly Afghanistan). U.S. nuclear-equipped forces are currently stationed in and around the Persian Gulf (south of Iran), Turkey and Iraq (west of Iran), and possibly in Afghanistan (east of Iran). The U.S. also has repeatedly threatened Iran with military attack.

4. Iran is surrounded by nuclear forces: U.S. (in Afghanistan), India and Pakistan (to the east); Israel, Iraq and U.S. bases in Turkey (to the west); U.S. nuclear equipped Navy (to the south in the Persian Gulf) and Russia (to the north). Most of these countries and forces are not friendly to Iran. In fact, two of them (U.S. and Israel) have openly threatened Iran with military attack many times. At the same time, let us not forget that the United States, as its military strategy, is reserving its right to the use of nuclear weapons against non-nuclear states (like Iran).

Putting all these facts together, it is not a surprise that Iran is forced to be concerned about its security. Even if we assume that Iran is moving toward developing nuclear weapons (which it claims it is not
and there is no evidence for it), what is pushing Iran in that direction? Isn’t it the fact that it is surrounded, and openly threatened, by nuclear states, especially by the U.S. and Israel?

Isn’t it an absolute hypocracy that a rogue nuclear state like Israel, and a nuclear superpower like the United States, are claiming to be “concerned” about nuclear proliferation in the Middle East, and using it as a cover to militarily attack or impose devastating economic sanctions on a non-nuclear state and its people?

The U.S. administration is claiming that it is “opposed” to Israeli attack on Iran. But can anyone with a rational mind, believe that Israel could attack Iran without the U.S. consent? And can the U.S. avoid the grave consequences of a “unilateral” Israeli attack on Iran? Haven’t we fought enough imperialist wars already? Have any of these wars ever solved any of our people’s problems?

Why not solve the problem at its roots by removing all nuclear weapons from the Middle East and declaring the Middle East a Nuclear-Weapons Free Zone? This has been the position of the United Nations General Assembly, reflected in its resolutions of the past several decades — every time opposed only by the United States and Israel.

The US Peace Council calls for the full implementation of the Non-Nuclear Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and its immediate application to the Middle East. Middle East should be declared as a Nuclear-Weapons Free Zone, and all nuclear weapons should be removed, or otherwise eliminated, from the region. This is the only way to peace in the Middle East and an urgent measure to avoid the impending war and devastation, not only for the people of Iran and the Middle East, but of the people of the United States as well.

US Peace Council

February 6, 2012

amistad.nai@rcn.com