America Allowed The Pakistan Nuclear Horn To Form

‘America went soft on Pakistan’s nuclear smuggling efforts’
14 Oct 2015, 2231 hrs IST , AGENCIES

The US went soft on Pakistan’s nuclear smuggling efforts during former President Ronald Reagan’s administration, fearing that any action would upset their bilateral ties at a critical time of the Afghan war, according to new declassified documents.

The documents were declassified amid reports that the Obama Administration is considering a civil nuclear deal with Pakistan. Declassifying a number of documents, the National Security Archive (NSA) said that the Reagan administration had an internal debate over policy towards Pakistan’s developing nuclear capability.

The debate led to a letter from Reagan to Pakistani dictator Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq, never before published, asking for a commitment to low levels – five per cent – of nuclear enrichment.
Five per cent would amount to a “red line”, which some in Washington believed would trigger sanctions, although Reagan’s letter did not directly threaten to cut aid in the event of non-compliance.
Through the 1980s, the war in Afghanistan had priority over Pakistan’s nuclear programme and Reagan and his top advisors did not want to take any action that would jeopardise Pakistan’s role as a conduit for US aid to the Mujahadin, NSA said in a media release.

In his letter dated September 12, 1984, Reagan wrote of his “appreciation” that Zia had made the assurance on five per cent, further stating that higher levels of enrichment above five per cent “would have the same significance” as the other nuclear activities, such as unsafeguarded reprocessing which “I had personally discussed with you and would have the same implications for our security programme and relationship.”

Reagan said enrichment above five per cent was “no different” from the other activities, but the letter did not make explicit the threat of an aid cut-off. NSA said the Soviet war in Afghanistan, and US support for Pakistan’s aid to the mujahidin, was the context for Reagan’s points on nuclear proliferation.

That Afghanistan was the overwhelming priority was also evident in draft talking points that were prepared for Ambassador Hinton: Washington remained “fully committed to supporting you in our common effort.”

The talking points went on at some length about nuclear issues, including the importance of Pakistani assurances and the need for Indian-Pakistani dialogue, but they included no reference to penalties if Pakistani cooperation was found wanting, NSA said.

Significantly, the talking points refer to Washington’s “judgment” that it is “likely that at some point India will take military action to pre-empt your military programme”. Such a possibility had been discussed in previous national intelligence estimates, NSA said.

Consistent with the allusion to an Indian threat, the talking points included an inducement for Pakistan to adopt safeguards on its nuclear facilities: in light of the threats that Pakistan faced, “we would be prepared to act promptly to discourage or help deter such action as you move toward safeguards”.

Whether this offer, close to a security guarantee, was actually made to General Zia remains to be learned, NSA said.

It added that a wide-ranging 1985 CIA report analysed General Zia’s “gamble” on a close strategic relationship with the US, waged in the face of broad domestic opposition which was deeply suspicious of Washington and fearful that Pakistan would be embroiled in a conflict with the Soviet Union.

To keep India and the Soviet Union at bay, Zia wanted to pursue a close security relationship with Washington and secure increased aid to support military modernisation.

To avoid “pressure” from Moscow, however, Zia opposed any publicity for US indirect aid to the insurgents in Afghanistan, although he wanted it to keep flowing to prevent the Soviets from consolidating their position, it said.

The CIA saw Zia and the Pakistani public generally as deeply committed to a nuclear weapons capability as security against India; accordingly, if Washington cut aid to Pakistan for nonproliferation reasons, CIA analysts argued that Zia would reduce support for the resistance in Afghanistan and intensify work on nuclear weapons development.

An aid cutoff could even lead to Zia’s overthrow or resignation in light of his gamble on close relations with the United States, NSA said referring to the documents.

Khamenei Is Encouraged To Lie For Islam’s Cause (Qur’an 3:54)

Ignoring Leader’s nuclear Fatwa

 

 

TEHRAN, Mar. 02 (MNA) – While Iran’s Leader Ayatollah Khamenei has in several occasions reiterated his Fatwa on banning WMDs and nuclear weapons, some western media and officials try to devalue the significant verdict.

One of the most important guarantees the Islamic Republic of Iran provides to prove its nuclear program is peaceful, is the Fatwa issued by the Leader Ayatollah Khamenei which considers WMDs and nuclear weapons not only ‘illegal’, but also ‘illegitimate and Haraam’ (Arabic term used for deeds totally forbidden in Islam). Meanwhile, the significance of this religious-legal decree is tried to be distorted by some media and officials in west. In a latest of such efforts, senior fellow in national security affairs at the American Foreign Policy Council James S. Robbins has written in US News that “the Fatwa may not exist at all. Although Iranian officials have referred to it repeatedly, it has not been published. By contrast, all of Khamenei’s other Fatwas have been. Moreover, Iran has given conflicting dates for its issue, including 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2012. The nearest thing to an official text can be found on the web page of Iran’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations.”

The claim is despite the fact that a special section for Fatwas by Ayatollah Khamenei on the official website of the Leader’s office has published the Leader’s Message to International Conference on Nuclear Disarmament on April 17, 2010 which includes the Fatwa in four languages: “We believe that besides nuclear weapons, other types of weapons of mass destruction such as chemical and biological weapons also pose a serious threat to humanity. The Iranian nation which is itself a victim of chemical weapons feels more than any other nation the danger that is caused by the production and stockpiling of such weapons and is prepared to make use of all its facilities to counter such threats. We consider the use of such weapons as Haraam and believe that it is everyone’s duty to make efforts to secure humanity against this great disaster.”

Meanwhile, US News article alleges that Iran has made “no reference to the Quran or any other Islamic text or tradition, as other religious edicts traditionally do.” That’s while another article on Khamenei.ir website “Jurisprudential Reasons Why Nuclear Weapons are Haraam” has elaborated on the roots and grounds of this decree in Islamic resources.

The attempt to undervalue Ayatollah Khamenei’s Fatwa banning Nukes comes amid last week report by AlJazeera and The Guardian revealing part of spy cables on Mossad’s assessment of Iran’s nuclear program.

According to AlJazeera, the documents reveal that short after the Israeli PM Netanyahu address to UN General Assembly in 2012 showing a cartoon-like drawing of a bomb and warning that Iran was 70 percent of the way to obtain a nuclear weapon, the Israeli spy agency Mossad reported that Iran was “not performing the activity necessary to produce weapons.” The Guardian has also reported of US, Israeli and British covert global campaigns to stem the spread of Iranian influence, tighten sanctions and block its nuclear programme.”

The classified documents were jointly released by AlJazeera and The Guardian last week amid ongoing nuclear talks and drastic rise in tensions among US politicians over Netanyahu’s visit to the US and speech to the Congress this week.