Scott Ritter: The losers' game

[marmar]

from the Guardian UK:



The losers' game
Diplomatic manoeuvres to force Iran to prove a negative about its halted nuclear weapons programme ... now where have I seen that before?


Scott Ritter
March 6, 2008 10:30 PM | Printable version


With all the courage of conviction that comes from being anonymously sourced, a "senior British diplomat" has cast doubt on the veracity of a recent US National Intelligence Estimate (NIE), which concluded that Iran had halted its nuclear weapons programme in 2003. This unnamed official was backed up by Simon Smith, the British representative to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), who noted that a recent briefing given by the IAEA had raised doubts about Iran's claims that it never had a nuclear weapons programme.

Smith is no unbiased observer. As the spokesperson for the so-called "EU-3" (Great Britain, France and Germany), he serves as the face of a group which has a considerable political investment in maintaining the notion of Iran as a non-compliant player in the diplomatic game that is Iran's nuclear programme. The EU-3 has been attempting to walk the tight wire between a desire to moderate hardline US policies through placation, and their responsibility under international law to respect the provisions of the non-proliferation treaty. In doing so, the EU-3 has married itself to a policy that centres on Iran's requirement to suspend unconditionally its uranium enrichment programme, since such a programme could be used in any nuclear weapons program.

The recent findings of the IAEA, which underscore the legitimate civilian purpose of Iran's uranium enrichment programme undermine the fundamental argument for suspension. The release of the American NIE (pdf) was timed, coincidentally or not, to counter the IAEA report. By noting that Iran had stopped its nuclear weapons programme in 2003, the American intelligence report made moot the conclusions of the IAEA, since the UN inspectors would, of course, not detect ongoing evidence of a nuclear weapons programme that had been halted. But the conclusions of the NIE came with an alarming premise, that Iran had been pursuing nuclear weapons. The American NIE provides no conclusive evidence to sustain this finding, but rather builds its case on intelligence of dubious sourcing.

The British government rejects the American NIE's conclusions that Iran's nuclear weapons efforts have been suspended, while hanging its hat on the case for its existence. The heart of this case continues to be a laptop computer of questionable provenance. In a classic case of double-dipping, data alleged to be contained in this laptop has been cited in both the NIE claiming that Iran's programme was halted in 2003, and in the American/EU-3's claims today of an ongoing effort. Iran has rejected as irrelevant or fabricated the data presented by the IAEA on behalf of the United States and the EU-3. ......(more)

The complete piece is at: http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/scott_ritter/2008/03/the_losers_game.html

[Windy]

1. Pay attention people. This is why the Kyl/Lieberman amendment was drafted!

I attended a lecture by Scott Ritter recently. He believes that the US will launch strikes agaist Iran in either June or not later than the fall around the time of the election.

Things are ramping up in a very familiar fashion.

What's Hillary going to say when Bush invades Iran? Gee, I thought it was a diplomatic measure. I didn't think he'd use force to attack Iran from inside Iraq...

[WHEN CRABS ROAR]

2. This insane game will keep happening until all nuclear weapons

are destroyed. No country should have them.

[KharmaTrain]

3. The Deck Is Being Set To "Help" Grandpa

This regime is hellbent on "settling scores" with Iran...and are shitcanning Adm. Fallon who opposes this folly. They'll create some Danzig incident and help Grandpa's "chances" with a nice case of shock and awe and flagrant flag waiving. The media will ooze with glee as they'll get to ride in tanks, watch the F-16s zoom off the flight decks and show that "awesome footage"...nothing like a good war to get those ratings cooking.

Ritter, again, is a voice in the wilderness as this regime is intent on spreading its wars for profit and force whomever follows them to keep them going by making things so messed up. The UN needs to start war crimes investigations ASAP.

[marmar]

4. Yup.

n/t

[Echo In Light]

5. Ritter was accused of "drinking Saddam's kool-aid" during the media blitz to sway the public on Iraq

Yet he was spot on, while the rest of the "trusted" patriotic TV pundits were dead wrong ... although I'm sure many of them were quite aware of that, as truth was to be avoided.