Hypocrisy in high places
Why is Israel permitted to develop nuclear weapons when Iran is not?
Eamonn McCann, 22 Mar 2006
Who's Ollie Byrne?’ Roudabeh Shafie wanted to know.
I was sharing a platform in Dublin with Roudabeh, discussing the possibility of a western attack on her country, Iran. Ollie cropped up in relation to the UN nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT).
It¹s said that Iran is in breach of the NPT. America is leading calls for action to force the country back into line.
At the meeting, I quoted commentator David Morrison on a recent exchange between US diplomat Robert Joseph and Egyptian journalist Khaleed Dawoud. Joseph had briefed journalists on the need for action against Iran. Dawoud asked whether Israel, too, should be called to account for its nuclear programme.
Joseph replied: ‘In terms of Israel, I mean, this is really about Iran. This is about Iran...violating its commitments under the Non-proliferation Treaty.’
Dawoud pressed on: ‘Are you saying, sir, Israel is not in violation of its obligations under the NPT?’
Joseph: ‘Israel is not a member of NPT, so it’s not violating.’
It was this which brought Ollie to mind.
I invited the meeting to consider whether Derry City should inform Fifa that it had withdrawn from the provisions of the off-side rule and that all Derry goals would henceforth be legitimate irrespective of the position of the scorer. How would Ollie react?
Possibly, I suggested, he would announce that so also would it be at Tolka Park.
How would he then react, I wondered, if Fifa responded by expelling Shelbourne from football. (It was at this point Roudabeh piped up, ‘Who¹s Ollie Byrne?’)
Ollie, I speculated, would demand, ‘What about Derry?’ And Sepp Blatter might retort: ‘In terms of Derry, I mean, this is about Shelbourne violating its commitments under the offside rule.’
That could be the tipping point for the Tolka supremo. He¹d possibly explode, splattering gobbets of Shel-flesh across a thousand-metre radius. Even people who¹d previously thought him excitable might agree he had reason.
Just as the Iranians have reason.
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