Israel Matzav

Syria elected vice chairman of the IAEA

Here's more proof of the decadence and hypocrisy of the United Nations and its agencies (as if we needed any more): Syria has been elected vice chairman of the IAEA.

The Syrian news agency SANA proudly reported the election on Tuesday, adding that Syria was also successful in including "the Israeli nuclear arsenal as an item on the agenda of the conference."

The agenda for the meeting includes the item "Israeli nuclear capabilities and threat." While Iran will be a focus of the discussions, there is no item on the agenda referring to the Islamic Republic by name.

Israel's Foreign Ministry had "no public comment" on Syria's election.

But Gerald Steinberg, chairman of Bar-Ilan University's political science department and an authority on nonproliferation, said the election "reflects the absurdity of the political process inside the IAEA."

The deputy chairman has no real power and is merely a symbolic post, similar to a deputy president of the UN General Assembly or a deputy speaker of the Knesset, he said. However, Steinberg added, "this move shows how little these types of international frameworks can really do when some of the main players are also the main violators of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty."

Steinberg said that both Iraq and Iran have held similar positions within the IAEA in the past.

And Ahmadindinnerjacket is going to be at the UN next week. Unless the US denies him a visa.

Someone please remind me why the US continues to contribute 22% of the UN's annual budget.

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 12:16 PM