Israeli who leaked secrets to be freed But officials say his travel, speech will be restricted By Dan Ephron, Globe Correspondent, 2/25/2004 The Boston Globe http://www.boston.com/news/world/mi...02/25/israeli_who_leaked_secrets_to_be_freed/ JERUSALEM -- Israel announced yesterday that it would impose restrictions on Mordechai Vanunu, the former nuclear technician who leaked secrets to a London newspaper about the Jewish state's atomic arsenal, when he completes his 18-year prison term in April. Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said in a statement that Vanunu would not be kept in prison beyond his sentence but would be subject to "appropriate supervisory measures" that would prevent him from giving away more secrets. Sharon, who discussed the matter with legal and security aides yesterday, did not specify what restrictions would be imposed. But other officials have said Vanunu, who was nominated this year for a Nobel Peace Prize, probably would be prevented from leaving Israel and talking publicly about his work at the secretive Dimona nuclear plant in the 1970s and '80s. The meeting in Sharon's office in Jerusalem was attended by members of the Mossad and Shabak security agencies and representatives from the ministries of Justice and Defense. Vanunu, 49, has told relatives he would like to immigrate to the United States upon his release April 21. But Israeli authorities are concerned he would become a focal point for efforts abroad to strip Israel of its nuclear weapons. Israel neither admits nor denies having nuclear capability. Vanunu's disclosures to the London Times led analysts to conclude the Jewish state has at least 200 nuclear warheads -- the fifth- or sixth-largest arsenal in the world. Vanunu's attorney, Avigdor Feldman, said any restrictions imposed on a former prisoner who has served his full term would be struck down by Israel's High Court of Justice. "His liberties cannot be limited in any way," Feldman said. "Besides, he disclosed everything he knew about Dimona 20 years ago. The idea that he still has secrets to tell is crazy." Vanunu was hired in 1977 to work at Dimona, in southern Israel, where nuclear bombs are thought to be manufactured. While working at the plant, Vanunu also studied philosophy at Beersheba University and became involved in radical left-wing politics. By the mid-'80s, according to his own trial testimony, Vanunu had become fed up with Israel's treatment of the Palestinians and with its secret development of nuclear weapons. He quit the plant and left Israel in late 1985, converted to Christianity, and then told reporters from the London Times everything he knew about Dimona. The newspaper report, published in 1986, shocked the security establishment in charge of safeguarding Israel's nuclear secrets. Mossad used a woman agent to lure Vanunu from London to Rome, where he was abducted, taken to Israel, and tried on charges of espionage and treason. Vanunu spent the first 11 years of his 18-year term in solitary confinement. Israeli authorities said they wanted to prevent him from leaking secrets to fellow inmates, but human rights groups accused the security establishment of acting out of vengeance. Vanunu's supporters say Israel is still driven by a desire for revenge. But analysts say they believe that Vanunu, even if he has no more secrets to reveal, could pose a headache for the Jewish state if allowed to travel freely. "Having Vanunu running around the US and Europe talking about the bombs Israel has could be a serious irritant from the Israeli government's perspective," said Avner Cohen, a senior research scholar at the University of Maryland who writes about Israel's nuclear policy. Mary Eoloff, an American from Minnesota who with her husband legally adopted Vanunu several years ago in a failed bid to win him US citizenship, said Vanunu had no immediate plans to lobby against Israeli nuclear weapons. "If he speaks out, and it won't be right away, it would be against nuclear threats all around the world," she said in a recent interview. Security officials a year ago offered Vanunu an early release if he pledged never again to talk about Dimona or Israel's weapons, Eoloff said. "He said he won't do it." "He believes in freedom of speech."
For balance, something from the other side. ============================== Israeli Nuke Whistleblower Has No Regrets Fri Apr 16, 2:34 AM ET By PETER ENAV, Associated Press Writer AP Newswire TEL AVIV, Israel - An Israeli who has spent 18 years in prison for spilling his country's nuclear secrets says he has no regrets, his brother tells The Associated Press. Mordechai Vanunu, a traitor in the eyes of the Israeli government but a hero to anti-nuclear activists around the world, is due to be released on Wednesday, when he will have completed his term. But instead of the freedom he has long awaited — he wants to go to the United States — he will face a series of restrictions on his movement. Vanunu, 50, was a technician at Israel's top-secret nuclear plant near the desert town of Dimona. In 1986, he disclosed details and photos of the plant and the country's reputed nuclear weapons arsenal to The Sunday Times of London. He subsequently was seized in Europe by the Mossad intelligence agency and spirited to Israel, where he was convicted of treason and espionage. He served 12 of his 18 years in prison in solitary confinement. In an AP interview on Thursday, a day after visiting Vanunu in prison, his brother, Meir, said Vanunu has no second thoughts. "It is obvious that Mordechai regrets nothing in his action," he said. Israel won't confirm or deny whether it has nuclear weapons. But based partly on photographs that Vanunu provided to the Sunday Times, it is widely believed the country has a large nuclear arsenal. The CIA (news - web sites) recently estimated Israel has 200-400 nuclear weapons. Meir Vanunu said his brother's actions provoked an essential debate on nuclear weapons and put an effective end to the policy. "Nuclear ambiguity — there's not much left of it," he said. Though Israeli military censorship still weighs heavily against specifics about Israel's nuclear programs, in recent years members of parliament have spoken out on the issue, and the subject of nuclear weapons has been debated at times in the local media. On Sunday, Vanunu learned that following his release, Israel's Shin Bet security agency will impose a series of restrictions on him, including barring him from leaving Israel, approaching border terminals and foreign embassies, and communicating with foreigners, including foreign residents of Israel. Meir Vanunu said his brother had expressed great frustration about the restrictions and will challenge them in court. "It is unbelievable what they are doing now after 17 1/2 years of persecution," Meir quoted him as saying. "I didn't believe they would do this after all this time." Senior Israeli officials have suggested that Vanunu may still have sensitive security information and could divulge it after his release, but Meir Vanunu denied that. "Mordechai spoke to the Sunday Times in 1986," he said. "Everything he had to say he said then." Vanunu has been adopted by a family in Minnesota in the mistaken belief that the adoption would provide him with American citizenship. After visiting him Thursday in prison, Nick and Mary Eeloff expressed disappointment that they could not take him back to the United States. "He just wants to lead a normal life and we just want to bring him home," Nick Eeloff told the AP. Vanunu's cell has been emptied of books and other belongings, which are being checked as part of a pre-release routine, Moss said. The Prisons Authority declined comment. Meir Vanunu said his brother wants to live abroad "as a free man." "He wants to go to the United States," he said.
The IAEA? Nuclear inspectors? Oh, that's only for Iraq, Iran, NK, and Libya. Human rights? That's only for China. Intervention/Asylum for political dissidents? Only if they're not anti-Israel dissidents. Nuclear ambiguity? It's a unique right of Israel. Iran, Libya, Syria, Iraq, North Korea? Not for you! Only Israel. Why? Just because. It's Israel we're dealing with here. Here, totally different rules apply.
Inspections are for those countries that are part of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). Israel, India and Pakistan are not part of the NPT and thus don't get inspected. <a HREF="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/2645379.stm">Non-Proliferation treaty explained</a> <i> North Korea has threatened to pull out of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). What is it and who has signed up? The Nuclear non-Proliferation treaty - often known as the NPT regime - is the cornerstone of international efforts to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons and to open up access to the peaceful uses of nuclear technologies as widely as possible. When it was ratified in 1970, it was aimed at limiting nuclear weapons to the five states that acknowledged having them - the US, Soviet Union (now Russia), China, Britain and France. China and France, however, did not sign up to the treaty until 1992. Monitoring The five "nuclear-armed states" are all permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, and are bound under the treaty not to transfer nuclear weapons or to help non-nuclear states to obtain them. A total of 187 countries have, so far, ratified the pact, but none has yet pulled out. Non-nuclear signatories agreed not to seek to develop or acquire such weapons. India has not been persuaded to join up to the treaty However, they are given an undertaking to develop nuclear energy for peaceful purposes. This, however, is monitored by inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency based in Vienna. But there are also key states that have not been persuaded to join the treaty. Non-signatories India, Pakistan and Israel are non-signatories and are all believed to have a nuclear weapons capability. India has long been a critic of the perpetual nuclear monopoly the NPT implies. In 1974, it exploded what the government described as a "peaceful nuclear device". However, the NPT regime has had many successes. South Africa and virtually the whole of Latin America have abandoned any nuclear weapons activities. South Africa secretly built weapons in the 1980s but destroyed them and joined the NPT in 1991. That year, Iraq was found to be in violation of, following IAEA inspections after the Gulf War. Up until this time inspectors were only authorised to visit sites that had been declared by NPT signatories. But after the situation in Iraq proved the inspection regime to be inadequate, its powers were strengthened. IAEA inspectors were then authorised to make special inspections of NPT states, including research and production sites that are undeclared. Pulling out It was these new powers that sparked a crisis with North Korea in 1993. The communist state, which signed up to the treaty in 1985, threatened to pull out of the treaty. Pyongyang initiated the 90-day notice period required for signatories wishing to pull out but was persuaded by the US to suspend "effectuation" of its withdrawal a day before the notice was due to take effect. According to the IAEA, the previous notice served by North Korea cannot be taken into consideration this time around. A spokesman told BBC News Online that the legal view is that North Korea will have to inform all of the other signatories plus the UN Security Council of its intention to withdraw before the notice period can come into effect. </i> I don't think India and Pakistan are subject to IAEA inspections, so there seems to be a few exceptions beyond Israel. From one viewpoint, it could be considered <i>totally different rules</i> than what the NPT signers try to adhere to. It could also be argued that since Pakistan, India and Israel aren't part of the NPT, then they don't have any <i>rules</i> to follow and it becomes a decision if the < i>absence of rules</i> is actually <i>totally different rules</i>. There is a recent <b>unconfirmed</b> story that Syria has some pictures from the Israeli nuclear facility at Dimona. <hr color=green> <a HREF="http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/spages/414028.html"> Syria has details of Dimona nuclear reactor, former spy says</a> <i> Syria reportedly has information about the nuclear reactor in Dimona and pictures taken inside the facility, according to a former Syrian intelligence officer. Captain Yusef Abed al-Jalil, who served 10 years in an Israeli jail, made his claim in an exclusive interview with Haaretz. The interview will be published in full in Sunday's edition of the paper. Jalil said the Syrians received the information from Soviet intelligence sources and from agents among Israel's Arab population...............</i>
IIRC, weren't India and Pakistan punished politically and economically when they pulled out of the treaty or when they tested their nukes? When this dissident posted legitimate claims about Israel's secret arsenal, what punishment were there? More aid? I mean, there has to be some disincentive for pulling out of a nuclear watchdog. Unless you're Israel?
I didn't find any reference to India and/or Pakistan as ever being signers of the NPT. Sanctions have been started & stopped over the years for various actions by Pakistan & India. As far as <i>punishing</i> those countries politically, they are on the other side of the world. The key political issue between India and Pakistan is the status of Kashmir ......... what the U.S. says about the matter will be unlikely to settle it. India & Pakistan are both members of the Non-Aligned Movement which doesn't seem to have the recognition and headlines that it had in the 60's, 70's and 80's. Probably the end of the West vs USSR (Cold War) had an impact in the decline of the attention given to the <i>NAM</i>. <hr color=blue> <a HREF="http://www.nationmaster.com/encyclopedia/Nonaligned-Movement">Nonaligned Movement</a> <i> he Non-Aligned Movement or NAM is an international organization of over 100 states which consider themselves not formally aligned with or against any major power bloc. It was formed in 1961 on the initiative of Josip Broz Tito, then president of Yugoslavia, and brought together the states of the world that did not wish to align themselves with either of the Cold War superpowers. Important members included India, Egypt, Brazil and, for a time, China. While the organization was intended to be as close an alliance as NATO or the Warsaw Pact, it never had much cohesion and many of its members were induced to or unable to resist aligning with one or another of the great powers. The first meeting of the NAM occurred in Belgrade in 1961 and it saw twenty-five members, eleven each from Asia and Africa along with Yugoslavia and Cuba. The group dedicated inself to opposing colonialism, imperialism, and neo-colonialism. The next meeting was held in Cairo in 1964. It was attended by forty-six nations with most of the new members being newly independent African states. Much of the meeting was engaged in discussions about the Arab-Israeli conflict and the Indo-Pakistani Wars. The 1969 meeting in Lusaka was one of the most important with the movement forming a permanent organization to foster economic and political ties. Kenneth Kaunda played a crucial role in these events. The 1973 meeting in Algiers saw the movement deal with new econmic realties. The Oil Shock had made some of its members vastly richer than the others. The end of the attachment of the U.S. currency to gold, and its subsequent devaluation, also removed one of the groups largest complaints. </i> <hr color=blue> As far as disincentives: Santions, Political Estrangement etc.............both India & Paikistan kept to the quest of achieving nuclear capability despite the disincentives put against them.
just wanted to get this straight. so what you're all saying is that all saddam had to do was to pull out of the NPT and he would have avoided the war? after all, no NPT = no legal basis for IAEA intervention = no need for nuke inspectors = no possible security council intervention (oh wait it voted against it anyway) = no legal basis for US invasion? saddam must have been a total idiot to have missed such a simple solution... ---------------- by the way, an update on this: http://edition.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/meast/04/21/israel.vanunu/index.html Israeli nuclear spy released Wednesday, April 21, 2004 Posted: 1552 GMT (2352 HKT) ASHKELON, Israel (CNN) -- A defiant Mordechai Vanunu has calmly walked out of prison after serving 18 years for spilling Israeli nuclear secrets to a British newspaper. Sporting a dress shirt and tie and flashing V-for-victory signs alongside his brother Meir outside the Shikma Prison in the coastal city of Ashkelon, the former nuclear technician said he had no regrets over his actions. "To all those calling me traitor, I am saying I am proud, I am proud and happy to do what I did," he said. Vanunu was convicted of treason and espionage and spent most of his term in solitary confinement after providing the UK's The Sunday Times with information and pictures of Israel's secret nuclear reactor in the desert town of Dimona. His revelations gave a clearer indication of Israel's secret nuclear program and led experts to conclude that Israel possessed the world's sixth-largest nuclear arsenal with around 100 atomic weapons. Visibly angry, Vanunu said he suffered "cruel and barbaric treatment" at the hands of Israel's security services during his detention. "I suffered here 18 years because I am a Christian ... if I was Jewish I wouldn't have this suffering and isolation." The first stop for Vanunu, a 50-year-old Moroccan Jew who converted to Christianity, was to a nearby Anglican church where he was greeted by dozens of supporters. Vanunu has said that all he wants to do after his release is leave Israel and try to resume his life. But Israel -- where Vanunu is widely despised as a traitor -- is worried he could reveal more secrets and has banned him from leaving the country for 12 months. Among other restrictions placed on Vanunu: he is unable to have a passport, can only have contacts with foreigners by permission for six months, is barred from foreign embassies, is not allowed to conduct media interviews and is forbidden to discuss nuclear secrets. He also will be under close surveillance and must inform authorities of his movements. However, Vanunu said he didn't have any more secrets to reveal and urged Israel open its reactor at Dimona to international inspections. "The article was published; there are no more secrets. I am now ready to restart my life," he said. "Israel doesn't need nuclear arms, especially now that all the Middles East is free from nuclear weapons." Limited freedom Israeli officials say the post-release restrictions on Vanunu could have been much tougher. They will be lifted if Vanunu toes the line. "He promises to do as much damage and harm to Israel as he can," Israeli Justice Minister Joseph Lapid told CNN. "He in this sense is a very, very unusual case where somebody spied on his country and betrayed his country and continues to do so and promises to do every harm that he can do to his country. So the sort of restrictions that we are imposing are very, very mild and moderate and limited." Vanunu has also expressed concerns for his safety with some Israeli newspapers publishing the address in the Tel Aviv neighborhood of Jaffna where he was expected to live. It is now unclear where Vanunu will reside. Vanunu became a technician in 1976 at Israel's Dimona Nuclear Reactor Center, where he signed a pledge to honor the Official Secrets Act. He then secretly took photos inside the plant. At the same time, he was studying philosophy at Ben Gurion University, which many experts say contributed to a change in ideals. By the time he was laid off from Dimona in 1985, Vanunu was feeling uncomfortable with Israel's nuclear secrets, his brother Meir said. "He felt a duty -- according to what he said in the court, according to what he said in letters, and in my talks with him -- to speak about it to inform his own people and the international community," Meir Vanunu told CNN. After moving to Australia, Vanunu met a Colombian journalist who encouraged him to tell his story. Vanunu was in London for talks with The Sunday Times when he disappeared. Shortly afterward, the newspaper published the photos of Dimona. Two months later, while being taken into an Israeli court, Vanunu revealed how he was abducted and arrested by writing in black ink on his hand and showing it to photographers. Nuclear 'ambiguity' He had been lured by a female Mossad agent to Rome, where he was drugged and smuggled back to Israel. "He was extremely angry about that, and angry about the fact that they committed a crime but prevented him from speaking about it," Meir Vanunu said. "I was prevented from talking about it myself." Convicted of treason and espionage at a closed trial, Vanunu was imprisoned for 18 years, the first 11 years and six months spent in solitary confinement. Vanunu's admissions to The Sunday Times embarrassed Israel. Rather than openly declare itself as a nuclear power, Israel still maintains a "strategic ambiguity" over its nuclear weapons capability. Israel's military is believed to be capable of deploying nuclear weapons via fighter-bombers, land and submarine-launched missiles. "We let you guess whatever you wish. What we have promised, and we keep the promise: We will not be the first to introduce nuclear weapons in the Middle East," Lapid said. "But you must know that we are a country threatened to be annihilated by our enemies. We are the only country in the world which is threatened by annihilation. And therefore we have the full right, not only the right, we have the obligation to do the utmost to keep our security in best shape." CNN Correspondents Walt Rodgers and Paula Hancocks contributed to this report
Not sure what would have happened. Similar to what you asked: <hr color=red> January 11, 2003 <a HREF="http://www.china.org.cn/english/international/53302.htm">China Shows Concern over DPRK's Withdrawal from NPT?</a> <i> China on Friday expressed its concern over the declaration by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) to withdraw from the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), saying it would continue to work on peaceful settlement of nuclear issues of the DPRK. "We are concerned about the DPRK's announcement to withdraw from the treaty, as well as consequences possibly caused by the withdrawal," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Zhang Qiyue said here Friday. Zhang said the nuclear NPT had great significance in preventing proliferation of nuclear weapons while promoting international peace and security. China hoped to see the universality of the treaty to be maintained, and would continue to devote itself to promoting peaceful settlement of the DPRK's nuclear issues, she said. The DPRK government on Friday declared its withdrawal from the nuclear NPT, a move that further escalated the nuclear crisis on the Korean peninsula. The DPRK joined the NPT in Dec. 1985. Pyongyang withdrew from the treaty in March 1993 but returned to the pact in Oct. 1994 under the Agreed Framework reached by the United States and DPRK in Geneva. January 11, 2003 </i> <hr color=red> Getting India, Israel and Pakistan to join the NPT instead of letting Iraq to leave should be the goal. <hr color=red> <a HREF="http://www.armscontrol.org/act/2003_05/npt_may03.asp">NPT to Tackle Tough Questions in May (2003)</a> <i> NPT to Tackle Tough Questions in May Christine Kucia As delegates from member states of the nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT) meet in Geneva April 28-May 9 for the second in a series of international consultations prior to the 2005 review conference for the treaty, North Korea’s withdrawal from the accord and Iran’s potential challenge to the treaty emerged as focal points of discussion at the conference, if not the formal program. Assistant Secretary of State for Nonproliferation John S. Wolf April 28 described Pyongyang’s actions as “both cynical…and dangerous in its impact on North Korea.” But Wolf saved some of his strongest words for Iran which he termed “the most fundamental challenge ever faced by the NPT.” This year’s NPT Preparatory Committee meeting, chaired by Ambassador László Molnár of Hungary, is confronted with a wide range of complicated issues. North Korea’s January 10 announcement of its withdrawal from the NPT—the first time an NPT member state has turned its back on the treaty since it entered into force in 1970—casts a shadow on the meeting. April 10 marked the end of the three-month period the treaty requires from the time a country announces its withdrawal to the time the withdrawal is official. In addition, new U.S. nuclear weapons use policy that appears to contradict negative nuclear security assurances made in the context of the NPT is likely to elicit criticism at the meeting (See ACT, May 2003), as are U.S. moves to explore development of a nuclear bunker buster and repeal legislation banning research and development of low-yield nuclear weapons. Nuclear-weapon states agreed in Article VI of the treaty to pursue measures leading toward eventual nuclear disarmament, and NPT members also promised to take steps that could enable the early entry into force of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty—most recently at the 2000 Review Conference. <b> Member states face other outstanding questions, such as finding a way to include India, Israel, and Pakistan—which are believed to have nuclear weapons but have never signed the NPT—in a comprehensive nuclear nonproliferation regime; eliminating tactical nuclear weapons arsenals; and having all member states conclude fissile material safeguards agreements with the International Atomic Energy Agency, which would allow the agency to monitor the safety and security of nuclear materials in member states. The unstable relationship between nuclear-armed India and Pakistan is likely to weigh heavily as a regional issue of global concern, as well as tensions from possible nuclear weapons development and possession in the Middle East. </b> States are also expected to highlight recent successes in nuclear nonproliferation and disarmament. For example, the U.S.-Russian Strategic Offensive Reductions Treaty, ratified by the U.S. Congress March 6, will reduce each country’s arsenal down to 1,700-2,200 strategic nuclear weapons by 2012. Each state currently deploys 6,000 nuclear warheads. </i> <hr color=red>
Last I checked, Israel hasn't taken over a neighboring country or threatened to nuke anyone or even has trained terrorists.
A) Israel has, in fact, expanded it's borders in the past. B) Israel has threatened nuclear action in the past, which is a sight more than Saddam ever did. C) Read a tad about Mossad death squads, etc.
A) Israel expanded it's borders in response to a military buildup for invasion along the Sinai peninsula, and the closure of the Straits of Tiran and ensuing blockade. While land was gained, it was only to build a buffer zone between Israel's strategic points and the pan-Arab coalition which at the time threatened its very existence. You can hardly call the Six-Day War "taking over a neighboring country," especially since it was fought defensively, and especially since all the land that was gained, with the exception of a few West Bank settlements, has either already been returned or is being returned. B) Israel has stated repeatedly and unambiguously that it will only use nuclear force in retaliation for nuclear force. C) Oh, please. Morally equating Mossad to al-Qaeda or Hamas is supreme stupidity of the worst kind. Last I checked, Mossad didn't conduct suicide bombings against civilians on a daily basis.
A) Everyone...mark that, everyone has reasons for why they take over other people's land. People buy the reasons of the people they like, and apply absolutes to those they don't. Either way, the statement that Israel had not taken any land was false, whether you agree with their rationalization or not. B) Er...wrong. Israel flew jets with nukes at least two times in conflict with surrounding Arab states, and rattled their nuclear sabre more than twice in the 70's. As none of the surrounding Arab states had nukes, that defies your reponse. That may be their current policy, but has not always been so. D) No, Mossad rarely used suicide bombs, just bombs. You really feel that's a qualifiable difference? It's nobler to NOT die while killing?
A) No one said "land" they said "country." Israel has never taken over a neighboring country. B) "Rattling the nuclear saber" is not the same as actually using nuclear force. C) Yes. Israeli security forces target Palestinian terrorists, and civilians are sometimes killed in the process. Palestiniants TARGET CIVILIANS. Equating the two is like equating Nazi Germany and America because they both killed civilians. There's a huge moral gulf between collateral damage and purposeful genocide.
