David Kay: Former U.N. Weapons Inspector
OK, disclaimers once again: keep in mind that I try my best with my notes but there is a chance I've misunderstood something, so don't hold me to it.
He said his reports were open to the public so every time they were released, the first three people in line were always representatives from Iraq, Iran, and North Korea -- so they know how to cheat.
He thinks it's impossible to ever have "surprise" inspections.
In Iraq, records were found of every fax sent to Vienna/New York -- actual faxes, not just electronic copies!
Non-proliferation treaty has lots of flaws. Once you have enrichment, you have military capability.
They lie about their true purpose, site locations, etc.
One thing you need to understand about countries like Iran/Iraq, is that there is no embarrassment about lying OR getting caught telling a lie.
Iran has best cloaking ability to hide their nuclear facilities.
OK, now some decent, if not good news:
IAEA finally knows they lie.
Inspectors do slow things down even if it is easy to circumvent inspectors. On the down side, International inspections can delay other actions that should probably be taken.
Inspections can't do:
Hard to tell when country has program. And then most importantly, by itself, they can't stop a country from making nuclear bombs.
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I wish I could remember the story he told about Hans Blix but suffice it to say, it illustrated why we've been in such a mess thanks to weapons inspectors.
8 Comments:
Great suggestion and long overdue. Done!
One thing you need to understand about countries like Iran/Iraq, is that there is no embarrassment about lying OR getting caught telling a lie.
Of course not.
They'll immediately try a new lie.
I had hundreds of Muslim students - it is part of their everyday culture.
And they tell you with straight face: "I swear to god".
About Hanx Blix - he is an idiot on a nice salary - this probably should cover everything.
Hmmmm... sounds like the axis of evil to me.
No embarrassment about lying OR getting caught in a lie?
These inspectors expect to get lied to. It's all part of the game. I also don't trust the inspectors. What type of oversight do they have? Anything dealing with the United Nations means $$$$ in somebody's pocket.
Esther
Is Washington ready for Mr Beamish in 08 ? The Beamish Presidency will
have an interesting impact on the called Georgetown Crowd.
My Presidency will solve the world's problems within the first 100 days. Then I'll probably take up golf.
I think the worst thing about the UN is not how corrupt they are - it's how many people still take them seriously!
Great point, Esther!
I remember a sketch from the old Monty Python`s Flying Circus in which ``World Hide and Seek`` became an Olympic sport. The seeker counted to 100,000 or some such while the hider went anywhere in the world to disappear. The seeker then had 12 years to find the hider.
The whole weapons inspection regiment reminds me of that.
Oh, and I endorse Mr. Beamish for President!
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