The question of whether Iran is pursuing a nuclear program is a false argument. It is being perpetuated by the neo-conservatives around the White House who have wanted to attack Iran for decades. This should not be the question that we are so eagerly debating; there are two questions that must be addressed before this one. The first question has to be: ‘Does the United States have the legal or moral right to determine if Iran, or any other country, has permission to pursue civilian nuclear ambitions?’ The next question is: ‘Does Iran have the legal and moral right to pursue civilian nuclear aspirations?’ Both of these crucial issues must be decided before trying to convict Iran of pursuing a nuclear program.
Why is no one asking these critical questions? Because the debate is being controlled from the top-down. The U.S. government is forcing us to take as fact that the U.S. has the right to dictate who can follow any nuclear program and that Iran does not have that right. These are both arrogant fallacies.
The International Atomic Energy Agency is the worldwide watchdog for all nuclear activity, not the United States. The IAEA says that there is no evidence that Iran is pursuing a nuclear weapons program.
The international legal framework that controls a country’s right to a nuclear program is the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. All 189 countries that have signed the NPT have the right to pursue a civilian nuclear program, promise to reduce their nuclear weapons, and promise not to give weapon technology to other countries. Iran is a signer of the NPT and therefore has the right to a civilian nuclear program.
The United States is also a signer of the NPT, however the U.S. is currently working on a new generation of nuclear weapons, which is in violation of the NPT. If we want to look for violators of the NPT why not start with us? Or question the countries that we support who we know have full nuclear weapon programs? The four countries that refuse to sign the NPT are: Israel, Pakistan, India and North Korea.
During the Ford administration it was ironically Cheney, Rumsfeld, and Wolfowitz who were lobbying to get Iran nuclear power. At the time they said Iran had every right and the need to have it.
As usual, our laws and accusations do not apply to us or to our friends. America has turned into a country rampant with false arguments and double standards.
