US in favor of Israel nuclear ambiguity

[alex revision]

US in favor of Israel nuclear ambiguity

Tue, 11 May 2010 13:06:32 GMT

http://www.presstv.com/detail.aspx?i...onid=351020202

Amid international calls on Israel to come clean about its nuclear activities, the Israeli defense minister says the US has no objection to Tel Aviv's policy of ambiguity over its program.

"There is no threat over the traditional agreements between Israel and the United States," Ehud Barak told army radio on Tuesday.

"I met President Barack Obama and other US officials two weeks ago. All of them told me denuclearization efforts target Iran and North Korea," he added.

Under the nuclear ambiguity policy, which Tel Aviv has successfully maintained for years with Washington's support, Israel neither confirms nor denies the possession of nuclear weapons.

Israel is believed to have manufactured scores of nuclear warheads since 1958 when it started building its plutonium and uranium processing facility -- the Dimona reactor.

Israel -- thought to be the only possessor of a nuclear warhead in the Middle East -- has refused to sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) in order to avoid inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

Meanwhile, Washington has maintained a "don't ask, don't tell" policy toward Israel's nuclear program for the past 40 years.

Earlier in September 2009, a resolution at the UN nuclear assembly called on Israel to put all its atomic sites under UN inspection and join the NPT.

Meanwhile, the topic of "Israeli nuclear capabilities" is scheduled to be discussed at the next meeting of the IAEA's Board of Governors in June.

[Leonard Rouse]

They hate us for our freedom!