VZCZCXYZ0004
OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHKT #0837 2530417
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 100417Z SEP 09
FM AMEMBASSY KATHMANDU
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 0731
INFO RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI 3211
RUEHLM/AMEMBASSY COLOMBO 7428
RUEHKA/AMEMBASSY DHAKA 2759
RUEHIL/AMEMBASSY ISLAMABAD 5470

UNCLAS KATHMANDU 000837 
 
STATE FOR SCA/INSB, PM/CBM, PM/PRO 
 
STATE FOR SCA/PPD, PA/RRU 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958 N/A 
TAGS: KMDR KPAO PGOV OPRC NP
SUBJ: MEDIA REACTION: NUCLEAR ROW 
 
¶1.  The independent popular English daily 
"Republica," in its Wednesday, September 9, 2009 
editorial, discussed what it termed the "nuclear 
row" brewing between Iran and Western nations and 
criticized "double-standards" applied in looking at 
nations with nuclear capability.  It also urged 
nuclear-capable nations "to first express an 
unambiguous commitment to gradually cut their 
nuclear arsenals and expound a vision of a nuclear 
weapons-free world. Unless they do so, the race will 
continue and more countries will join the nuclear 
club." 
 
¶2.  Full text: "The nuclear row between Iran and the 
West is worsening, threatening stability in the 
Middle East. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad 
on Monday said Iran will neither halt its uranium 
enrichment nor negotiate over its nuclear rights but 
is ready to sit and talk with the world powers. 
Ahmadinejad's statement is in response to a warning 
issued by the UN nuclear watchdog, the International 
Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). The IAEA has warned 
Iran against "stalemate" over its nuclear program. 
Providing a new twist to the issue, France on 
Tuesday accused the IAEA of concealing the truth 
about Iran's nuclear program." 
 
¶3.  "Nuclear proliferation is a threat to world 
peace and prosperity and it should be halted 
immediately, but such restrictions cannot be 
selective, nor can there be two different rules for 
two different countries. It is here that the West is 
making a mistake, and thus losing its moral 
authority to check nuclear proliferation. The United 
States, which has been putting sustained pressure on 
Iran to stop its nuclear enrichment program, should 
be the last country to be doing so. The US Senate 
rejected the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) 
when the Clinton Administration presented it for 
ratification. US clout against proliferation eroded 
further after it attacked Iraq on grounds of the 
latter possessing Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) 
but failed to come up with any evidence after over- 
running that country." 
 
¶4.  "The US and the nuclear West argue that their 
nuclear weapons guarantee world peace, while any 
such weapons possessed by "rogue" states would 
threaten that peace. True, developed countries and 
mature democracies are less likely to resort to WMD 
compared to unstable countries like Pakistan or 
Iran, but to say that developed countries never use 
them runs against historical fact: Didn't the US 
drop A-bombs on Japan during World War II?" 
 
¶5.  "The West also maintains double standards while 
dealing with a particular country before and after 
it attains nuclear status. Take India, for instance. 
The West was leaning heavily on India to sign the 
CTBT before it carried out nuclear tests in 1998. Of 
course, there were sanctions against India in the 
immediate aftermath of Pokhran II, but those 
sanctions gradually waned and today India hobnobs 
with the West as a privileged member of the nuclear 
club. India's current stature on the world stage is 
partly a result of Pokhran. Given such a record, 
it's no wonder that more nations aspire and do 
everything it takes to join that club. The members 
of the nuclear club should first express an 
unambiguous commitment to gradually cut their 
nuclear arsenals and expound a vision of a nuclear 
weapons-free world. Unless they do so, the race will 
continue and more countries will join the nuclear 
club" 
 
MOON