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If Israel can ignore the IAEA, why
should anyone else listen?
Media reports on Monday suggested that this week’s
annual conference of the International Atomic Energy Agency
(IAEA) will include a serious discussion of Israel’s
presumed nuclear capabilities. One can only hope that
this takes place, that the long-running grievances of
Arab and other countries are finally given their just
due. With accusations relating to weapons of mass destruction
having been a large part of the US pretext for invading
Iraq and Iran now facing heavy pressure over similar claims,
the double standard involving the Jewish state which
has steadfastly refused to sign the nuclear Non-Proliferation
Treaty (NPT) has become too obvious to ignore any
longer.
None of this has deterred the Israelis, though, from
speaking out against the alleged ambitions of others.
In fact, Israel has been at the forefront of countries
demanding that the IAEA get tough with Iran. The Israelis
are not at all embarrassed that Tehran is a signatory
to the NPT and they are not; nor does it bother them that
no one thinks the Islamic Republic has nuclear weapons,
while the Jewish state is estimated by experts to possess
something in the order of 200-300 warheads, not to mention
a variety of air-, land- and sea-based delivery systems.
The unbridled hypocrisy of Israeli policy and rhetoric
on this issue constitutes a major test for the IAEA, and
indeed for two cornerstones of modern diplomacy: arms
control and collective security. If the presumed violations
of some countries are to be “punished” pre-emptively
while those of others go unchecked, there is little point
in cooperating with the co-opted organization that enforces
its own regulations according to Washington’s whim.
Israeli impunity relies on America for its sustenance,
and the nuclear question is a case in point: US law is
very clear in banning foreign aid to countries that either
do not sign or fail to obey the NPT, but somehow more
than $3 billion in illegal funds gets from Washington
to Israel every year with nary a word of protest on Capitol
Hill.
If America is unwilling to comply with its own laws when
these do not suit Israel’s purposes, why should anyone
trust it to undertake an accurate accounting of international
security arrangements? And if the IAEA is unwilling to
assert its independence in the face of pressure from Washington,
why should any of its members bother to help maintain
the pretense that signed agreements mean anything at all?
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