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IS THE U.S. DOUBLE STANDARD ON ISRAEL'S NUKES COMING TO AN END?

By ChristopherBollyn, American Free Press

As Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon pushes the Bush administration to take action against Iran's nuclear program there are indications that the U.S. double-standard regarding Israel's extensive nuclear arsenal may be coming to an end. But is it a real change in policy, or is it merely a feint?

When Israel's Prime Minister Ariel Sharon visited President George W. Bush at his Texas ranch on April 11, Iran's nuclear program was the main subject of discussion, according to reports in The New York Times and the Israeli press. Sharon strongly urged Bush "to step up pressure on Iran to give up all elements of its nuclear program, according to senior American and Israeli officials," the Times reported.

Sharon and his chief military aide, Brig. Gen. Yaakov Galant, reportedly presented Israeli intelligence and aerial photographs of Iranian nuclear sites. American officials said Sharon "was clearly pressuring Mr. Bush not to allow the European negotiations with Iran to drag on."

Iran is currently engaged in negotiations with Germany, France, and Britain, in an effort to resolve the status of its nuclear program. June has been set as the end point for the negotiations.

Sharon argued that the European nations "were softening their position" with Iran and willing to allow it to hold on to technology to enrich uranium. Iran maintains that its nuclear program is for production of electricity and is not a weapons program.

Scott Ritter, the former weapons inspector in Iraq, said recently that Bush has approved plans to bomb Iranian nuclear sites in June if the European negotiators fail to obtain complete Iranian compliance with western demands.

"Our nuclear activities are transparent and under the supervision of the IAEA," Hamid Reza Asefi, spokesman for Iran's foreign ministry said. "Iran seeks nuclear technology for peaceful purposes." The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is the monitoring agency of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, commonly known as the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

The Israeli daily Ha'aretz reported that Sharon wants the U.S. to pressure the Europeans to move the Iranian case to the UN Security Council, which can impose sanctions on Iran. The Israeli position is that the Iranian nuclear program is on the cusp of a "point of no return."

"This can't be delayed much longer," the Times reported a senior Israeli official in Sharon's party saying. "There is very little time until the point of no return is reached."

The New York Times, whose motto is "All the News That's Fit to Print," avoided mentioning Israel's extensive nuclear weapons arsenal or the fact that, unlike Iran, Israel is not a state party to the NPT.

Perhaps the situation in which Israel, a non-member of the NPT, is using the treaty it refuses to sign to punish Iran, a member state, is just too much for the Times to finesse - so they simply avoid mentioning it.

Only 4 nations are not members of the NPT: Cuba, India, Pakistan, and Israel. As a member of the NPT, Iran's nuclear facilities are open to inspection and monitoring by the IAEA, while Israel's are not. This fundamental difference in status between Iran's and Israel's nuclear programs is generally not mentioned in news reports about Iran in the controlled press.

The fact that Israel has been allowed to develop an extensive nuclear weapons arsenal, with hundreds of warheads, and stay out of the NPT without being sanctioned by the United States or the international community is the essence of the nuclear double-standard.

Now, with the world's attention focused on Iran's nuclear program, however, there are signs from the U.S. State Department that the days of the Israeli double-standard may be numbered. The only question is whether they signify a real change in policy or are merely rhetorical posturing.

The 187 member states of the NPT will hold a month-long conference at the United Nations building in New York City in May to review the treaty and seek ways to strengthen its provisions. The world's attention will then be directed to those nuclear-weapon nations who remain outside the NPT: India, Pakistan, and Israel.

Referring to the upcoming NPT conference, Jackie Wolcott Sanders, the special representative of the president for the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, wrote in the State Department's electronic journal that the goal of universal NPT adherence ought to be highlighted.

Sanders wrote that it should be "reaffirmed that India, Israel and Pakistan may join the NPT only as non-nuclear-weapon states." "At the same time," she wrote, "we recognize that progress toward universal adherence is not likely in the foreseeable future."

Another State Dept. official, Mark Fitzpatrick, made similar comments at a security conference of the Organization of American States (OAS) on March 17 in Washington.

"The conference should also reinforce the goal of universal NPT adherence and reaffirm that India, Israel and Pakistan may join the NPT only as non-nuclear-weapon states," Fitzpatrick said. "Just as South Africa and Ukraine did in the early 1990s, these states should forswear nuclear weapons and accept IAEA safeguards on all nuclear activities."

"The rare use of these terms contradicts the custom of senior [U.S.] administration officials to avoid any possible confirming reference to Israeli nuclear weapons," Israel's Ha'aretz wrote.

It should be noted that Sanders and Fitzpatrick are "non-senior" officials at the State Dept. and their comments did not explicitly call on Israel, India and Pakistan to renounce their nuclear weapons. Furthermore, their comments did not call for action, as the Israelis are vigorously pushing for against Iran, nor did the U.S. officials mention a timetable, conditions, or sanctions.

So, are the comments of Sanders and Fitzpatrick mere rhetorical posturing, or do they indicate a genuine shift in U.S. policy concerning Israel's nuclear weapons?

The fact that Bush appointed Dr. Robert Joseph to replace John Bolton as the next Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security suggests that Israel will not be put under pressure by the U.S. to join the NPT or give up its nuclear arsenal. Joseph, who was appointed on March 11, is a "neo-con" known for his pro-Israel sympathies.

Joseph played a primary role in the U.S. withdrawal from the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty and is associated with the National Institute for Public Policy, an organization that supports resumed nuclear testing. Joseph was also reportedly involved in negotiations with Libya to end its nuclear program.

VANUNU ON TRIAL

As Sharon pressed U.S. government officials to take action against Iran, Israel's most famous nuclear dissident and political prisoner, Mordecai Vanunu, faced prosecutors wielding a 22 count indictment against him in an Israeli court. Vanunu is being charged with violating the restrictions imposed on him when he was released last April after 18 years in prison. Vanunu, who converted to Christianity in 1986, spent the first 12 years in solitary confinement. When Vanunu, who divulged the details of Israel's secret nuclear weapons program to the London Sunday Times in October 1986, was released from prison on April 21, 2004, a number of restrictions preventing him from speaking with foreigners or leaving Israel were imposed on him. Upon release, Vanunu immediately defied the restrictions and spoke to the foreign press. He publicly called for Israel to open its nuclear program to international inspections.

"It's a shameful day for Israel's democracy, that a man who served 18 years, a full sentence, is brought to court for exercising his freedom of speech," Vanunu told The Associated Press after his court appearance on April 12. "I have no more secrets. Only Israel has secrets about its atomic program," he added.

American Free Press called Vanunu at the guesthouse at St. George's Cathedral complex in Jerusalem on April 13 and asked him how things had gone in court. The restrictions on his movement and speech, which were set to expire, were renewed for another year, he said. Vanunu, who is being held against his will in Israel, remains a prisoner of the state.

"I am continuing to break these restrictions," Vanunu said about speaking to the foreign press. Asked why the Israeli state has put him on trial, Vanunu said, "My view is there are many reasons, but mainly they don't want me to speak about Israel's nuclear arsenal and bring attention to it. They want total silence.

"They don't like my political opinions and they don't want me to expose their cruelty and how they have treated me." Vanunu was kidnapped by Israeli intelligence agents in Italy in 1986. "They don't like a man like me who has become a Christian," he added.

Vanunu told AFP that he did not know how Israel had tested its nuclear weapons in the 1960's, but said Israel had tested a weapon "in 1976 in South Africa." Asked if Israel's first nuclear weapons had been tested in another country, such as France, Vanunu said, "I have no idea. There are some secrets we don't know about."

Asked if he had a message he wanted to send Americans, Vanunu said: "I want them to know that my situation proves that Israel is not a democracy that respects human rights. People should not be afraid to challenge Israel's illegal nuclear policies and its continued violations of human rights. Americans should write to their senators and representatives in Congress," he said.

While The New York Times made a front-page story out of Sharon's allegations regarding Iran's nuclear program, which has not produced a single weapon, the Times completely avoided any mention of Vanunu's day in court. Apparently news of the Israel's most famous nuclear dissident and political prisoner does not fit into "All the News That's Fit to Print."

Vanunu, who is hated and ostracized by Israelis and Zionists, lives in mortal danger in Israel. He wants nothing more than to come to the U.S. and start a normal life. He told AFP that he would like to meet and marry an American Christian woman between the ages of 25-35. He can be visited or reached by phone or post at the guesthouse of St. George's Cathedral in Jerusalem.