HASSAN TAHSIN IN the recent past, there have been serious attempts to engage in a political dialogue on the global level to rid the world of weapons of mass destruction. But this dream has not been realized and in fact there has been an increase in the number of countries that have a military nuclear capability. Some countries have announced that they possess nuclear weapons and have conducted nuclear tests, flouting the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) which has clearly lost its effectiveness. Several international meetings and conferences have been held on the nuclear issue. These include the address of US President Barrack Obama in which he invited Israel indirectly to join the NPT, and the regional meeting of the International Commission on Non-Proliferation and Disarmament. In this meeting, prominent experts from several countries, including Arab countries, such as Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Algeria, Jordan, Morocco, Tunisia, UAE and Syria, in addition to experts from Israel were present. The main topic on the agenda of these meetings was freeing the world from weapons of mass destruction. They also discussed the future of peaceful nuclear energy. However, these meetings did not result in any positive decisions being taken on these issues. We should remember that the five major nuclear powers, in addition to Israel, India and Pakistan have made collective commitments to the international community in this respect. The validity of NPT has been extended forever and this extension involved an act of deceit on the part of the United States with the connivance of France and the United Kingdom in particular. According to legal experts, this extension is illegal and invalid as long as it has not been signed by all the countries in the world. In this scenario, we have to take into account some factors such as the failure of NPT to achieve its goals and objectives, its inability to encompass the world as a whole, the fact that some countries have so far not signed the treaty and are thus not bound by its provisions, and the insistence of the five major nuclear powers to continue their monopoly on nuclear weapons and nuclear technology for both military and peaceful purposes and at the same time prevent non-nuclear states from doing the same. Countries, after all, have the right to protect themselves from the nuclear deterrent and to adopt a course of action that enables them to protect their national security. In the past, the US labeled Tehran, Baghdad and Pyongyang as the axis of evil in the world. It alleged that the prospect of their possession of nuclear weapons posed a clear threat to the strategic interests of America. The US used a similar political tactic against Vietnam, and deliberately orchestrated a fundamental dispute between the two Koreas. After September 11, Washington turned to the destruction of Arab states, and began by invading Iraq and Afghanistan. It now continues to violate Pakistan's sovereignty. While taking into account the diplomatic practice being followed on this issue, we can ask: Is Israel not posing a continuous threat to global security with its possession of more than 200 nuclear warheads of different sizes? Is it not the right of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to inspect Israeli nuclear sites? This question was raised during a meeting of the IAEA while Mohamed ElBaradei was serving as its director general. At that time, the representative of the United States in the organization stood up and said emphatically: “This request is a blatant interference in the internal affairs of Israel, which is a country with full freedom!" On hearing this, the director general kept quiet, and all other delegates followed suit. However, a similar question can be asked today: Are current media campaigns and international sanctions not a direct intervention in the internal affairs of Iran? I firmly believe that weapons of mass destruction should be eliminated from all the countries of the world, not just from Iran and North Korea. God has not given us science so that we can use it to kill each other. Instead it is meant to enable us to live a peaceful and harmonious life. – Hassan Tahsin is an Egyptian writer and political analyst. He can be reached at [email protected]
