|
A “False Wall In A Tehran Clock Factory” – Huh?
This blog has followed the allegations about Iran's nuclear program for years and even debunked some of them. I though I had heard of all the western talking points.
But there is now, apparently, something I did not know.
A report in today's New York Times about some interview an Iranian official gave includes these allegations:
Iran hid the construction of its Natanz nuclear enrichment plant — until it was revealed by a dissident group — as well as its construction of centrifuges to enrich uranium, until inspectors acting on a tip found them behind a false wall in a Tehran clock factory.
Iran revealed a deep underground site in 2009 only when it became clear that the West had discovered it and was about to announce its existence.
Iran did not have to announce the building of the enrichment plant in Natanz to the IAEA until six month before introducing nuclear material into it. It did not break its NTP obligation by building the plant. The 2009 construction of the plant near Qom was revealed by Iran in a letter to the IAEA. Only days after that letter was send did the U.S. government claim that it had known about this secret site. Again, Iran did not break any rules on this.
But what about that "false wall in a Tehran clock factory"? I have never ever heard about that and a quick search on the Internet does not find anything about that.
Is this a new David Sanger phantasy or is there something real behind that?
Could someone please enlighten me on this issue?
The New York Times focus on the Iran centrifuges which are used to enrich uranium under full UN supervision is meant to distract people from the huge US nuclear weapon stockpile and US treaty violation.
The US, like Iran, is a party to the nuclear non-proliferation treaty (NPT). The NPT was signed at Washington, London, and Moscow on July 1, 1968 and entered into force March 5, 1970, forty-two years ago.
The NPT, Article VI:
Each of the Parties to the Treaty undertakes to pursue negotiations in good faith on effective measures relating to cessation of the nuclear arms race at an early date and to nuclear disarmament, and on a Treaty on general and complete disarmament under strict and effective international control.
In violation of the NPT, the US still stocks over 5,000 nuclear warheads. The United States stores its nuclear weapons at 21 locations in 13 states and five European countries. The United States maintains roughly 200 nonstrategic nuclear-armed B-61 gravity bombs at six bases in five nations: Belgium, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, and Turkey.
These warheads aren’t secure. In July three peace activists infiltrated the highly sensitive “Protected Area” at the Energy Department’s Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. The protesters, including an 82-year-old nun, cut through three perimeter fences and reportedly defaced with human blood the wall of a facility containing highly enriched uranium, a material used in nuclear warheads. Detecting the intruders’ presence was hampered by a broken security camera and alarms that were switched off. The Energy Department’s inspector general last month rebuked Y-12 security for failing to more quickly apprehend the trespassers, who ultimately walked up to guards and surrendered.
Similar infiltrations by activists have occurred in recent years at European nuclear bases. Members of a Belgian organization, Peace Action, said in 2010 it had repeatedly breached perimeter security at Kleine Brogel Air Base, northeast of Brussels.
The US stocks these weapons and apparently it has no intention of disarming, in accordance with the NPT. In 2008 the US Air Force added an assistant chief of staff in charge of nuclear weapons. According to a recent news report:
Four years later the new position is paying dividends. Maj. Gen. Donald Alston, since retired, took over the position on Nov. 1, 2008 after internal reports blasted the service for not having a headquarters position dedicated solely to nuclear weapons. Alston’s first job was cleaning up the mess left by so many years of nuclear negligence on the part of Air Force leadership following the end of the Cold War. . .Fast forward four years and the discourse inside the Pentagon is dominated by defense spending cuts and the threat of sequestration. Establishing an assistant chief of staff dedicated to nuclear issues has given the nuclear community a seat at the table when it comes time to discuss the budget. Nuclear issues previously got folded under other portfolios.
How is it paying off? Recent news report:
U.S. nuclear arsenal upgrade to cost at least $350 billion – Washington – The Obama administration’s modernization plan includes upgrading over 5,000 nuclear warheads and refurbishing storage facilities. Delivery systems for the weapons need to be replaced.
The U.S. has 5,113 nuclear warheads each of which could wipe out most of a major city. U.S. priorities are clear. While the U.S. debt is in the trillions and the country faces a fiscal cliff, it is regarded as imperative that all these weapons be retained and even upgraded.
The cost estimate of slightly more than $350 billion comes from the Stimson Center. The program is to last a decade. The Government Accounting Office (GAO) places the plan on a high-risk list for fraud, waste, and abuse. No doubt politicians will applaud the scheme as producing jobs and make sure that some of the work is channeled to their own constituencies.
Posted by: Don Bacon | Sep 21 2012 18:48 utc | 13
|
