Nuclear Reverberations
The eminent director of the IAEA, Mohamed ElBaradei, head of the U.N.’s international agency responsible for overseeing Iran’s compliance with the NPT (Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons). In a recent interview with Newsweek, ElBaradei’s demonstrates why Iran is in a position to quickly develop a nuclear weapon.
Embarassingly, ElBaradei admits that he needs more time to verify Iran would produce nuclear material for peaceful purposes:
For the last three years we have been doing intensive verification in Iran, and even after three years I am not yet in a position to make a judgment on the peaceful nature of the [nuclear] program.
Three years is an awful long time to determine the “peacefulness” of the Iranian nuclear program. Maybe ElBaradei believes he can earn another Nobel Prize if he sits on his hands for another two years. Ultimately, ElBaradei gets at the rub of his pusillanimity:
I still would like to be able to avoid escalation, but at the same time I do not want the Agency to be cheated; I do not want the process to be abused. I think that is clear.
ElBaradei believes his monkeying around with the Iranian mullahs deserves international approbation. Granted, the Nobel Committee and others have not hesitated to throw their encomiums at ElBaradei’s feet. Yet, ElBaradei seems to imply that bureaucratic success (meaning the IAEA) trumphs nation-state concerns about Iran’s capability to swiftly compile and produce nuclear material to weaponize their own missile or to sell to Al Qaeda-type terrorist organizations. In other words, Israel and the United States should sit on their hands and wait until the IAEA bureaucrats resolve any questions regarding Iran’s nuclear intentions. ElBaradei wants the credit–this is his stage. He does not want to allow Israeli and U.S. concerns regarding Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s intent to foil his diplomatic success.
The only reasonable conclusion for the lengthy inspection process is that ElBaradei wants the IAEA to clear Iran of any malignant intent. At what cost? ElBaradei laments:
[I]f I say that I am not able to confirm the peaceful nature of that program after three years of intensive work, well, that´s a conclusion that´s going to reverberate, I think, around the world.
Yeah, there will be a reverberation alright: a nuclear warhead courtesy of the Iranian mullahs. ElBaradei’s selfish quest imperils the security of the Middle East and any credibility left at the U.N.