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The Syrians Still Haven't Come Clean About Their Covert Nuclear Program

[Foreign Policy] Gregory L. Schulte - Two years after Syria's suspected reactor was destroyed, Damascus continues to stonewall the IAEA. Syria did not notify the IAEA of the reactor's construction, thereby violating its Safeguards Agreement, a standard agreement meant to allow the IAEA to verify the peaceful use of nuclear material, and has gone to great lengths to cover up its violation. Mohammed ElBaradei, director general of the IAEA, reported that the agency's "ability to confirm Syria's explanation regarding the past nature of the destroyed building...is severely impeded because Syria has not provided sufficient access to information, locations, equipment or materials." "Severely impeded" is about as strong as language gets in Vienna. The IAEA must keep the spotlight on Syria, insist on Syria's full cooperation, and be prepared to exercise the IAEA's full authority. Ultimately the IAEA Board must be ready to find that Syria's noncooperation constitutes noncompliance and report that noncompliance to the UN Security Council. President Obama's vision of a world without nuclear weapons, a vision widely supported by IAEA member states, is unthinkable without a robust verification system. The writer was the U.S. Permanent Representative to the International Atomic Energy Agency from July 2005 to June 2009.
2009-09-04 08:00:00
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