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Gold9472
10-28-2007, 07:37 PM
UN nuclear chief attacks hostile US claims on Iran

http://rawstory.com/news/afp/UN_nuclear_chief_attacks_hostile_US_10282007.html

Published: Sunday October 28, 2007

UN atomic watchdog chief Mohamed ElBaradei said Sunday he had no evidence that Iran is building nuclear weapons and accused US leaders of adding "fuel to the fire" with recent bellicose rhetoric.

"We haven't received any information there is a parallel, ongoing, active nuclear weapon program," the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency told CNN.

"Second, even if Iran were to be working on nuclear weapons ... they are at least (a) few years away from having such weapon," he said, citing Washington's own intelligence assessments.

"My fear (is) that if we continue to escalate from both sides that we will end up into a precipice, we will end up into an abyss. The Middle East is in a total mess, to say the least. And we cannot add fuel to the fire."

The White House Friday rejected any parallels between its Iran rhetoric and the run-up to the Iraq war, after fresh sanctions on Tehran and escalating US warnings fueled comparisons to the months before the 2003 invasion.

"We are absolutely committed to a diplomatic process," spokesman Tony Fratto told reporters.

"We would never take options off the table, but the diplomatic process is what we want to move forward with," he said, calling it "unwise" to rule out the use of force.

His comments came as US President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney have been sharply ramping up their rhetoric about Iran, leading some critics to draw parallels with the late 2002 verbal escalation against Iraq.

In recent months, Bush has predicted "nuclear holocaust" and "World War III" if Tehran gets atomic weapons, while Cheney has warned of "serious consequences" for Iran if it defies global demands to freeze uranium enrichment -- echoing the UN resolution that Washington says authorized war in Iraq.

Iran insists that it is enriching uranium only for nuclear energy and denies US charges that it is seeking the bomb.

ElBaradei has been vindicated in his pre-war belief that Iraq was not resuming its own nuclear arms program, contrary to claims by Bush and Cheney.

However, he said that in the current dispute, "we cannot give Iran a pass right now, because there is still a lot of question marks."

"But have we seen Iran having the nuclear material that can readily be used into a weapon? No. Have we seen an active weaponization program? No."

Merely "exchanging rhetoric" would not resolve the Iranian nuclear case, the IAEA chief said, adding that "the earlier we follow the North Korean model, the better for everybody."

North Korea has already detonated a nuclear device. But under six-nation talks, the Stalinist state has agreed to dismantle its nuclear weapons program in return for a broad package of economic and diplomatic incentives.

ElBaradei said it is time "to stop spinning and hyping the Iranian issue because that's an issue that could have a major conflagration, and not only regionally but globally."

"It could even accelerate a drive by Iran, even if they are not working on a nuclear weapon today, to go for a nuclear weapon," the IAEA chief said.

"So we can talk about use of force as and when we (have) exhausted diplomacy ... but we are far, far away from that stage."

Foreign ministry officials from Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States are preparing to hold new discussions about stronger UN sanctions against Iran, possibly as early as Friday in London.

Meanwhile one of ElBaradei's deputies, Olli Heinonen, is due to hold fresh talks in Tehran on Monday.

Heinonen clinched a deal in August for Iran to answer outstanding questions over its atomic program so that the IAEA can conclude a four-year investigation.

AuGmENTor
10-28-2007, 08:04 PM
Who cares what the UN says? We aren't governed by them.

Gold9472
10-28-2007, 08:10 PM
Who cares what the UN says? We aren't governed by them.

No, but they are an organization that, if they say something like George W. Bush's administration's claims regarding Iran's nuclear weapon capability is bullshit, you listen.

Please don't tell me you think we should attack Iran...

AuGmENTor
10-28-2007, 08:22 PM
No Jon, I dont think we should attack anyone. I was merely pointing out that the US isn't held accountable for the crimes it commits. What is the UN going to do to us. I pointed out recently that we went into Iraq against the UN. What's to keep us from going into Iran as well?

Gold9472
10-28-2007, 08:26 PM
Us.

AuGmENTor
10-28-2007, 08:28 PM
Us.I'll give you that progress has been made on several key fronts. But in comparison with how much NEEDS to be done, nothing has been accomplished. To many dumbed down masses.

simuvac
10-28-2007, 10:11 PM
Do you think invading Iran will be the tipping point for public opinion?

I mean, polls say 70% are opposed to Bush's Iraq policy (read: war crimes) already. The protests have been substantial, but they haven't overwhelmed the system.

Would Iran get more people in the streets, or would it be considered problematic by the same people who oppose occupying Iraq?

Personally, I think instituting the draft is the only thing that will end this nightmare (or letting Sibel Edmonds speak, of course).

Gold9472
10-28-2007, 10:15 PM
Yes. The draft would get people off of their asses. Hence the justification for "Blackwater" I bet.