Bush, Ahmadinejad Spar at U.N.

The U.S. and Iranian presidents took the U.N. floor yesterday to present their visions for improving international security and, more specifically, resolving the Iranian nuclear crisis (see GSN, Sept. 19).

Addressing the U.N. General Assembly in the early afternoon, U.S. President George W. Bush spoke directly to Iranian citizens.

“The United States respects you; we respect your country. … You deserve an opportunity to determine your own future,” he said.  “The greatest obstacle to this future is that your rulers have chosen to deny you liberty and to use your nation’s resources to fund terrorism, and fuel extremism, and pursue nuclear weapons” (White House release, Sept. 19).

Later in the day, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad railed against U.S. international policies.

“Some seek to rule the world relying on weapons and threats,” he said.  “Some powers proudly announce the production second and third generations of nuclear weapons.  What do they need these weapons for?”

He reaffirmed that Iran is pursuing a peaceful nuclear power program and has a right to do so as a party to the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty.

“Which governments object to these rights?  Governments that themselves benefit from nuclear energy and the fuel cycle,” he said (Federal News Service transcript, Sept. 19).

Bush’s speech reflected a modified U.S. policy toward Iran, which Washington once argued had no credible need for nuclear power.  Yesterday, however, Bush said to Iranians, “Despite what the regime tells you, we have no objection to Iran’s pursuit of a truly peaceful nuclear power program.  We’re working toward a diplomatic solution to this crisis.”

Bush’s ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton, however, continued to question Iran’s nuclear ambitions.

“The idea that they want a peaceful program for energy purposes is just inconsistent with reality,” he told Fox  News yesterday.  “This is a country with huge reserves of oil and natural gas.  Our Department of Energy estimates those reserves could extend for 300 or 400 years, so the idea that [Iran] needs civil nuclear power now is hard to credit.”

Iran clearly has nuclear weapon aspirations, he said.

“We’re 100 percent sure that Ahmadinejad is seeking a nuclear weapon?” asked Fox News interviewer Shepard Smith.

“There’s simply no other explanation for the vast range of activities that they’ve undertaken concerning the nuclear fuel cycle and the activities they’ve taken with the A.Q. Khan proliferation network,” Bolton replied, referring to the nuclear smuggling network once led by former top Pakistani nuclear scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan (see GSN, Sept. 18; Federal News Service transcript, Sept. 19).

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