01 May 2007

The bomb that dare not speak its name

Israeli hero Mordechai Vanunu faces a new spell in prison following his conviction on the charge of speaking to journalists in a Jerusalem court yesterday. Vanunu spent 18 years in a prison, much of the time in solitary confinement, for leaking details of Israel's nuclear weapons programme which the government continues to refuse to confirm. Following his "release" in 2004 he was placed under severe restrictions, including prohibiting his speaking to any foreigner and also preventing his leaving Israel. The specious reasons for these restrictions were that Mr. Vanunu, over 20 years after the fact, still had in his head Israeli "state secrets" that could not be revealed.

Despite all of the West's condemnation of Iraq's nuclear programme, way back when it had one, and Iran's current programme which is claimed to be for peaceful purposed only, Israel remains the only member of the nuclear "Club of Mass Destruction" (COMAD) in the Middle East.

It is good thing that nothing like this could ever happen in America, right? Right? Right?

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