Over the weekend, The U.N. Security Council voted to impose new sanctions against Iran for its refusal to stop enriching uranium.
The U.N. Security Council unanimously voted Saturday to impose new sanctions against Iran for its refusal to stop enriching uranium — a move intended to show Tehran that defiance will leave it increasingly isolated.
While the UNSC resolution called for sanctions, the US ambassador to the UN made a very disturbing statement that Tehran had 60 days to comply or Washington would unilaterally impose further measures.
So in spite of the fact that the UN Security council has agreed to Washington’s wishes, the Bush Administration has decided to go it alone anyway.
Beyond the inevitable consequences of what these further measures might be, what this decision has also done is effectively trash the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. Iran has followed the conditions of the NPT to the letter, and agreed to additional measures since 2003, yet the US has demonstrated that being a signatory to the NPT is futile unless you are in Washington’s good books.
Under the terms of the treaty, signatories are legally entitled to develop nuclear power plants and to produce the fuel to operate these reactors. Iran signed that treaty. So did the United States, but one of the benefits of being a superpower is being able to change the rules.
Compare this to the incredible hypocrisy John Bolton displayed when the issue of India’s nuclear power and weapons program was raised last year at the UN. Bolton defended India’s program, stating that it was legal because India were not signatories to the NPT at the time.
The Bush Administration’s short sightedness is truly astounding.
George W. Bush is so concerned that weapons of mass destruction will fall into the wrong hands that he’s going to roll back the entire global nonproliferation regime — 50 years in the making — so we can sleep safe at night.
Does the word Orwellian come to mind?