Violation of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty

One of the most dominant stories in yesterday's news was the United States' denunciation of Syria and accusations that Syria was pursuing nuclear weapon technology at the Syrian facility bombed by Israel on September 6, 2007. Today, we learn from the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Mohamed ElBaradai, that Israel was in violation of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty by taking unilateral action. As reported by AFP:

Nevertheless, the watchdog was critical of both the US and Israel for their handling of the matter.

IAEA Director General Mohamed ElBaradei "deplores the fact" that the information was not immediately passed on the the Vienna-based watchdog in accordance with the guidelines of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT)," the statement said.

"Under the NPT, the agency has a responsibility to verify any proliferation allegations in a non-nuclear weapon state party to the NPT," the statement said.

"In light of the above, the Director General views the unilateral military action by Israel as undermining the due process of verification that is at the heart of the non-proliferation regime," it added.

By destroying the facility instead of reporting it, Israel (presumably with the blessing of the US) prevented inspection of the facility to determine its true purpose. The world is left to wonder whether US claims of a Middle Eastern country to develop weapons of mass destruction can be believed this time. The recent track record on this , of course, is abysmal.

Why can Israel get away with violating the NPT? Because it is not a party to the treaty.