WASHINGTON, D.C.– Representative Edward J. Markey (D-MA), a senior Democrat on the House Energy and Commerce Committee and Co-Chair of the Bipartistan Task Force on Nonproliferation, today reacted to President Bush’s statement that the world “is speaking with one voice” on the nuclear standoff with Iran:

“Today the President said he wants a diplomatic solution to the nuclear standoff with Iran, but stressed that Iran cannot be allowed to have the knowledge to make a nuclear weapon,” said Rep. Markey. “He said he wants Iran to hear ‘loud and clear’ that the world is speaking with one voice. Unfortunately, his declaration of global unity is unconvincing in the wake of a US-led drive to lift sanctions on India, a country which refuses to sign the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty and acquired its own knowledge to build the bomb by secretly diverting technology that they pledged would be restricted to peaceful purposes into a nuclear weapons program,” Rep. Markey continued. 

“Iran has signed the treaty and asserts that it is acting within it. While there is mounting evidence that Iran is not sincere about staying within the treaty, the one country that is in the worst position to isolate Iran is the United States, because the Bush Administration has chosen to abandon important treaty restrictions and longstanding provisions of U.S. law against a non-signatory just as it decides to get tough on a signatory.  In short, the Administration is getting in its own way, and if it succeeds with its policy in India, it may make it impossible to enforce the NPT anywhere else.”

For more information on Rep. Markey’s work to address the proliferation of nuclear weapons, please visit http://markey.house.gov/