Iran Agrees to Nuke Deal

[Alien Space Bats]

The fact that they voluntarily signed the Non-Proliferation Treaty in exchange for assistance with civilian use of nuclear energy...which they received.

Whenever we get into a debate over Iran's (unconfirmed) nuclear program — or North Korea's (which is all-too-real) — we get people who assert that because the U.S., Russia, China, France, the U.K., India, Pakistan, and Israel have them, then everybody else has a right to have them, too.

These sentiments show a complete lack of understanding of both the terms and the purposes of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), to which Iran (and virtually everybody else in the world) is a signatory.

Let me see if I can explain the concept behind the NPT; that way, people who want to argue that everybody ought to have nukes will at least be able to make an intelligent argument in favor or universal nuclear armament without tripping over their own feet coming out of the gate.

The NPT was forged as part of an effort to create a world in which nuclear disarmament was ultimately possible.

Fundamental to achieving this goal were three closely related concepts:

• All nations have the right to enjoy the peaceful uses of the atom (for power generation, nuclear medicine, scientific research, etc.).
  
  
• Nations that DO NOT possess nuclear weapons will not seek to acquire them.
  
  
• Nations that DO possess nuclear weapons will seek to get rid of them through negotiated disarmament.
  
  
• All nations must allow inspections of their nuclear weapons fabrication facilities (or suspected facilities) in order to verify compliance with this program.

As you can see from the foregoing points, the idea here was NOT to create two separate classes of countries — the nuclear "haves" and the nuclear "have nots" — but rather to require everybody to work towards universal nuclear disarmament, with nuclear powers moving towards negotiating away their weaponry while everyone else refrained from joining the "Nuclear Club" and making things worse.

So if you're going to argue that nations like Iran have a right to develop nuclear arms because nations like the U.S. already have them, you're essentially arguing for universal nuclear ARMAMENT — essentially, the idea that everybody ought to have nuclear weapons. If you go that way, however, you must be prepared to see nuclear weapons USED, because under that scenario too many people are going to have their hands on nuclear triggers for such weapons to NOT be used somewhere, sometime, and probably repeatedly.

If you're against this — if you want to see nations get away from having nukes — then the NPT is pretty much the only path there; that's because it's irrational for those nations that have invested in nuclear arms not to keep them if there are a whole slew of other new nuclear powers on the way.

It's your choice.

[Aryavartha]

the NPT regime and/or the powers that back that regime, have failed in stopping proliferation of nukes from China to Pakistan.

Some part of me is sympathetic to Iranian ambitions, given that their rivals both Israel and KSA (through Pak) have access to nukes.

[Tekania]

the NPT regime and/or the powers that back that regime, have failed in stopping proliferation of nukes from China to Pakistan.

Some part of me is sympathetic to Iranian ambitions, given that their rivals both Israel and KSA (through Pak) have access to nukes.

Pakistan is not a signatory to the NPT, neither is Israel for that matter.

[Greed and Death]

the NPT regime and/or the powers that back that regime, have failed in stopping proliferation of nukes from China to Pakistan.

Some part of me is sympathetic to Iranian ambitions, given that their rivals both Israel and KSA (through Pak) have access to nukes.

Pakistan is not a signatory to the NPT, neither is Israel for that matter.

The trick is not to sign the thing until after you have nuclear weapons.

[Arumdaum]

It's common sense to say they wouldn't because they have more to gain to not have one then to obtain one. The Iranian government aren't stupid and they know what would happen of they went nuclear. You say you don't know what they will do, well if you don't know then us common sense and try to understand there position in the world and how it would affect them. I say this because this is what makes logical sense.

Trying to predict the actions of the Iranian government by using common sense is like trying pass a history test by studying biology. It simply doesn't work as the Iranian governments actions generally are unpredictable.

Rather the opposite, actually.

You're not going to understand Iran if you see it as inherently irrational and crazy.

[Costa Alegria]

the NPT regime and/or the powers that back that regime, have failed in stopping proliferation of nukes from China to Pakistan.

India never signed the NPT either so I don't see what you're bitching about. Pakistan and India are just as bad as each other in this respect, not to mention that Pakistan's nuclear weapons were constructed using materials enriched in facilities built using stolen blueprints from the Netherlands.