Musings

Nuclear Country Club Excludes Iran

Recently, Iran has been making headlines for not heeding warnings from the United States, other western countries, and the UN Security Council over its fledgling nuclear program. Although, many faults can be found with the Iranian government, the western nations including the United States are not innocents either.
This is not the first time the United States government has hampered another country’s efforts to begin a nuclear program. Remember North Korea? The North Korean Nuclear Crisis is an issue that is yet to be settled, but the Bush Administration has conveniently slipped it under the rug. However, the US sometimes acquiesces and even consents to select countries becoming nuclear powers. This was seen in the recent talks President Bush has had with India’s Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, where Bush agreed to help India progress on its road to becoming a nuclear power. Now this action sends mixed signals. How can the United States be partial to one country and allow it to have nuclear energy, but not allow another country the chance to even try? It just sounds unethical, especially when a super power like America does it while claiming it is trying to better the world. The US‘s demands on Iran infringe on the sovereignty of that nation, while its support of India shows America as a prejudiced and biased nation.
Not only has America become biased towards certain countries, but it has also become hypocritical. What gives the US the right to create and own nuclear weapons, and not allow other countries to do the same? The western world claims they have these rights through the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty of 1968. However, many countries including Iran have not acquiesced with this unfair treaty due to its complete disregard of many developing countries, and also because it allows certain countries to enrich their Uranium stores for civil nuclear power. Countries such as the US are insisting that the UN send weapons inspectors to look over Iran’s nuclear enrichment program to make sure that it is not being abused. Iranians are enraged by the UN’s demand for these secret, unplanned, and completely unnecessary searches, and they will not agree to it.
Iran is a proud and intelligent country, and the entire populace feels it has every right to become a young nuclear power such as Israel, India, Pakistan, North Korea and China. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the ex-mayor of Tehran and recently elected President of Iran, after deliberations with China and Russia, who are benefiting from Iran’s nuclear enrichment, told the world, “Our nation cannot step back because of the bullying policies of some countries in the world.”
Iran feels that it is being intimidated and bullied by powerful countries of the west when it is trying to become self sufficient by developing its nuclear program. The western countries who have no trust in Iran, once again being partial and biased, feel that Iran will use its nuclear power to make bombs. The Iranian government is vehemently denying the west’s accusations and claiming that it wants to develop its nuclear program only to produce energy for civilian purposes. Infact, these fears of the west are completely false being that a ‘fatwa’ issued by their much revered leader Ayatollah Khomeini, has been instated against nuclear weapons. The west should dispel its fears and allow the Iranians to prove themselves like the Israelis and Indians have, and this once not embarrass itself by accusing another nation of nuclear proliferation to produce ‘weapons of mass destruction’!

posted by thethoughtless @ 9:01 AM