There has been knowledge throughout the world community that Iran was building nuclear facilities, but we were unsure of what was being built inside of them. Tehran has previously acknowledge that there was a plant in Natanz. But recently, on the 25th September, there was a release of information about a new uranium enrichment nuclear facility plant in Qom. There was public outrage from the international community that Iran was hiding this nuclear facility. There has been great tensions between Iran and America over this issue. Obama was willing to begin negotiations and talks about the nuclear program issue. On the 1st of October, the P5 + 1 Countries (United States, France, United Kingdom, Russia, China, and Germany) talked with Iran. These talks came after President Obama's historic leadership in the United Nations Security Council on the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. The United States does not want any countries to spread nuclear weapons. Obama called the talks with Iran a "constructive beginning." The countries discussed with Iran the need for transparency and Iran's need to responsibly meet the obligations in order to peacefully have nuclear energy. This talk was important because unlike past presidencies, this administration decided to talk about the issue of Iran's nuclear program. Talking with other countries helps to build relationships and brings about cooperation. But there also comes huge responsibilities that Iran has to make in order to prove to the world that it has peaceful intentions.
This website is a BBC News Article about the discovery of the new nuclear plant in Iran
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8274903.stm
Here is President's Obama's Remarks about the meeting with Iran on October 1st
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/Remarks-by-the-President-on-the-meeting-of-the-P5-plus-1-regarding-Iran/
The image of Obama speaking at the United Nations comes from this website
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/2009/09/23/2009-09-23_president_barack_obama_in_speech_at_u.html
I hope just as much as anybody else that Iran plans on using their nuclear facilities to advance their abilities to use nuclear energy, but there are a few questions about the issue which I think provide good debates. Why do you think that America should be able to decide if a country should research weapons of mass destruction when we have more weapons of mass destruction than anybody else? Do we have this right to control other's actions? What I think also has to be considered is the fact that the U.S. is the only country that has dropped an atomic bomb on another country, and we've done it twice. Do you think that we have the right to control Iran's decisions? I look forward to reading your blog.
ReplyDeleteAlong the lines of UltraMega's comment, there are many other arguments that can be stemmed off of this post. Personally, I do not believe that America should be controlling the research that Iran does in their nuclear facilities. Like UltraMega pointed out, the U.S. is the only country to have dropped an atomic bomb on another country. Why is it our place to worry about actions taken by other countries regarding nuclear research when we're the country that has used the weapons of mass destruction? Have other countries tried to police our research? No, they have only tried to compete with it. It's funny to think that the only country to have used these weapons is the only main country trying to police everyone elses research and weaponry.
ReplyDeleteA Reply To UltraMega
ReplyDeleteIt is difficult to answer the question if America should decide if a country should have nuclear weapons or energy in a short sentence. I agree that is important to keep in mind the fact that the United States itself has many nuclear weapons. It is key to learn from our own history in the past, with nuclear weapons, in order to help the United States go through the process of negotiating with other countries, especially Iran, on this nuclear program issue.
A reply to tarheel5
ReplyDeleteIt is true that America is a great influence in the dealings with Iran's nuclear program, but I think this comes from an international concern of what is really being built in Iranian nuclear facilities. I agree with you that not a lot of countries have tried to influence the way in which we research or build nuclear weapons. But you do bring out a good point in that America cannot always call the shots, or police other countries.