Israelis piqued by nuclear "confirmation"

[oberliner]

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Robert Gates, the incoming U.S. secretary of defense, won plaudits in Washington this week for his candor on the Iraq war.

Some Israelis were less pleased, however, to hear Gates mention with equal frankness what U.S. administrations have long avoided saying in public -- that the Jewish state has the Middle East's only nuclear arsenal.

To be fair, it was pretty oblique.

During his Senate confirmation hearing on Tuesday, Gates mentioned why Iran might be seeking the means to build an atomic bomb: "They are surrounded by powers with nuclear weapons: Pakistan to their east, the Russians to the north, the Israelis to the west and us in the Persian Gulf," he said.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20061207/ts_nm/nuclear_israel_gates_dc

[whistle]

1. Gate's thought following his statement about why Iran might be seeking

....to build an atomic bomb, "...so, we should take them out before they can launch one of of their own."

[newyorican]

2. Piqued by the truth

n/t

[Howardx]

3. how nice

"By not declaring itself to be nuclear armed, Israel also skirts a U.S. ban on funding countries that proliferate weapons of mass destruction. It can thus enjoy more than $2 billion in annual military and other aid from Washington."

[msmcghee]

4. I didn't hear Gates say one word about proliferation. n/t

[Name removed]

5. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[MrPrax]

6. LOL...

Well that solves that one.

No need for UN inspection teams, then.
Helps to explain why Asher Karni sold nuclear detonators to Pakistan...Israel doesn't have nukes!

Poor http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mordechai_Vanunu">Mordechai...just a victim of overzealous prosecution?


"...Uzi Even, was a young scientist working, in the 60s, at Dimona - Israel's nuclear reactor - as did Vanunu. Today, Mr Even says it should be shut down.

Forty-year-old reactors tend to have accidents and he believes that Dimona, which is beyond the reach of the Israeli parliament, needs to be brought into a system of accountability and public scrutiny.

Mr Even explained: "You should have an outside watchdog.

"The secrecy more or less created an extra- territorial area in Israel where standard procedures of safety monitoring are not implemented.

"So worker safety, environmental questions and industrial safety procedures, are not covered, and there are thousands of people working there."

Nothing illustrates this better than the sensitive issue of Dimona's cancer victims. In an Israeli documentary in 2002, Dimona workers said accidents had been routine.

They spoke of explosions, fires and liquid and toxic gas leaks that they had to clean, often without protection.

BBC -- "Israeli nuclear 'power' exposed"

[Eugene]

7. Israel Stands by Vague Nuclear Policy (AP)

Israel Stands by Vague Nuclear Policy


Thursday December 7, 2006 10:16 PM

AP Photo DCDA128

By MARK LAVIE

Associated Press Writer

JERUSALEM (AP) - Israel held firm Thursday to its policy of not admitting
it possesses nuclear weapons, in the face of an acknowledgment from the
incoming U.S. Defense Secretary that Israel has the bomb.

In his confirmation hearing before the Senate, Robert Gates explained Iran's
motivation to acquire nuclear weapons.

-snip-

Although Israel is widely assumed to have a nuclear weapons arsenal, it has
stuck to its policy of ambiguity on the subject, insisting against all the
evidence that it will not be the first to introduce nuclear weapons into the
Middle East.

Government spokeswoman Miri Eisin told The Associated Press "there is no
direct Israeli comment" on Gates' remarks. Experts played down the importance
of the comments.

-snip-

Full article: http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,,-6265589,00.html

[Tom Joad]

8. Vanunu confirmed this over 20 years ago. It is time Israel ends the deceit

Vanunu told the world and the Israeli people the truth.

http://www.vanunu.freeserve.co.uk/htdocs/background.htm