09) IRAN: NUCLEAR “DEAL” A TIMID, IMPERFECT STEP IN A BETTER DIRECTION
By Dave McKee
The recently-concluded Joint Plan of Action (JPA) nuclear deal between Iran and the P5+1 countries (US, Britain, France, Russia, China and Germany) represents a positive step on a number of levels. At the same time, however, the agreement is extremely limited and fails to address many key issues. It is crucial that the peace movement renew its longstanding effort to achieve global, comprehensive nuclear disarmament and the abolition of all nuclear weapons, as a key factor in building genuine and lasting peace.
The Iran/P5+1 deal demonstrates that an effort based on diplomacy and transparency can achieve positive results. This stands in obvious contrast to the longstanding approach taken by the US and its allies in NATO and Israel – military buildup, provocation, interference and outright aggression – which have only yielded death, destruction and instability.
The JPA helps to defuse regional tensions and relieve Iran’s isolation within much of the international community. Of immediate importance for the Iranian people, the deal promises to eliminate many of the harsh, decade-long economic sanctions that have helped cripple their country’s economy.
Significantly, the negotiations and outcome have drawn increased international attention to the question of nuclear disarmament. This is an important, and hopefully lasting, development. Since the end of the Cold War, the focus on disarmament has severely diminished. Furthermore, much of the ongoing discussion has been dominated by a sweeping mish mash of analysis that lumps all states as having equal responsibility with the US and NATO for nuclear proliferation. As the JPA continues to be analyzed, it is possible – even likely – that clearer, anti-imperialist positions will attract more attention, and this will help the broad peace movement to develop strategies for stronger disarmament campaigning.
With all of this in mind, it is critical to note that the Joint Plan of Action remains a timid and imperfect step that will quickly fail to live up to its promise if it is left to its own devices. The deal is scheduled to be in effect for six months, while the parties negotiate a “comprehensive agreement” on Iran’s nuclear program. However, there is no guaranteed timeline for the elimination of sanctions, nor a clear agreement on which sanctions will be lifted and which may be continued. The fact that officials from Iran and the US are referencing and circulating different versions of the agreement indicates that they remain far apart on what the JPA allows and requires.
Far from setting the stage for a comprehensive agreement, the JPA avoids the key issues that drive instability, militarization and nuclear proliferation in the Middle East region. There is no discussion of the role of Israel, an aggressive ally of the US that possesses nuclear weapons but has not signed the Non-Proliferation Treaty. This is rather perverse, given that the JPA’s focus – Iran – is a signatory to the NPT and does not, in fact, possess a nuclear weapon.
Similarly, the JPA does not discuss the issues of military buildup in the region by the US and its allies, foreign interference in the domestic affairs of sovereign states, or any of the main aspects of imperialism’s New Middle East strategy. As a result, the JPA avoids engaging the fundamentals of the overall confrontation between the US and Iran. In so doing, the agreement actually allows these key issues to continue to build and become a greater threat to Iran, the region and beyond.
To emphasize this point, only one month after inking the Joint Plan of Action the US unveiled a Missile Defence Strategy for the Gulf Cooperation Council. Under this agreement, the Gulf monarchies would receive a flood of missile defence (MD) technology from the US, as well as streamlined weapon sales and increased joint military exercises, with the express purpose of protecting them against Iran. Deploying MD, which is a vital aspect of the US first-strike strategy, is an enormously provocative action that immediately undermines the JPA and risks escalating tensions further.
The pretext used by the US and its allies to justify the sanctions against Iran was that the country’s program for the peaceful development of nuclear technology was cover for a nuclear weapons program. Many countries all over the world, including Canada, have nuclear energy and nuclear medicine programs; but only a few of these countries are identified as targets for sanctions. There is more clear evidence, for example, to argue the case that Canada’s nuclear industry is linked to the nuclear arms industry (of the United States), than there is for the case of Iran. Recently, the Harper government agreed to sell uranium to India, a nuclear weapons state that has not signed the NPT. Furthermore, by virtue of its NATO membership, Canada is unquestioningly part of a military organization that possesses nuclear weapons and maintains a first-use strategy. Yet, Iran is singled out for sanctions and harassment, while Canada continues to participate in nuclear arms development.
This selective treatment must end. A truly comprehensive agreement would explicitly defend a country’s right to develop peaceful nuclear technology. It would also clearly enforce a prohibition on nuclear weapons development and use by all countries, regardless of economic or political status.
Nuclear disarmament – indeed, all disarmament – is a critical issue that must be achieved if humanity is to survive. To effectively pursue this goal, the countries of the world must commit to comprehensive, universal disarmament – of nuclear weapons, weapons of mass destruction and conventional weapons – not single, one-off agreements that are tentative, fluid and fleeting.
In March 1950, following the end of World War II, the international peace movement founded the World Peace Council and launched the Stockholm Appeal for Peace. The Appeal was signed by over 270 million people around the world, and called for nuclear weapons to be abolished
Now, 65 years later, the text of the Stockholm Appeal still points the way forward for nuclear disarmament:
“We demand the outlawing of atomic weapons as instruments of intimidation and mass murder of peoples. We demand strict international control to enforce this measure. We believe that any government which first uses atomic weapons against any other country whatsoever will be committing a crime against humanity and should be dealt with as a war criminal. We call on all men and women of good will throughout the world to sign this appeal.”
In the spirit of Stockholm, peace activists and groups in Canada need to call on the government to reorient its foreign policy away from provocation, interference, aggression and war. Canada needs a new, independent foreign policy based on peace. This country can and should disengage from the imperialist camp, including withdrawing from NATO and halting its military trade with the United States and NATO countries. Canada should normalize relations with Iran and end all sanctions. The Canadian government should become a voice promoting comprehensive disarmament.
Dave McKee is President of the Canadian Peace Congress. This article first appeared in Canadian Peace Bulletin, quarterly publication of the Peace Congress.
(The above article is from the June 1-15, 2015, issue of People's Voice, Canada's leading socialist newspaper. Articles can be reprinted free if the source is credited. Subscription rates in Canada: $30/year, or $15 low income rate; for U.S. readers - $45 US per year; other overseas readers - $45 US or $50 CDN per year. Send to People's Voice, c/o PV Business Manager, 706 Clark Drive, Vancouver, BC, V5L 3J1.)