No Agreement on Nukes

Mark Townsend in New York Sunday September 18, 2005 The Observer The failure of last week's United Nations summit to deliver an agreement designed to prevent terrorists acquiring 'weapons of mass destruction' was sabotaged by the US, senior diplomats have told The Observer. Officials involved in the negotiations have confirmed that the Bush administration's refusal to countenance any form of disarmament blocked attempts to push measures that would prevent regimes seeking to develop a nuclear capability. It contradicts reports last week that the US had in fact been furious that plans to crack down on nuclear proliferation were stripped out of the final UN document. However, diplomats speaking on condition of anonymity have revealed it was in fact President Bush who scuppered what the UN believed was a crucial move in helping make the world safer from the risk of terrorists obtaining a nuclear threat. More at: Guardian Unlimited Reuters also reports: In a final statement, Persson regretted the failure to agree on a common approach to preventing the spread of nuclear arms or a comprehensive strategy to counter terrorism. "The prospect of weapons of mass destruction being used again is terrifying ... Our failure to address the threat from these weapons at the summit leaves us with a crucial task ahead," he said. Read more: Reuters