Blix criticizes Bush nonproliferation policies

A man convicted of blowing up his neighbors' homes and shooting their pets stands before a judge.

"Why did you do it?" the judge asks.

"I claim the right of a belligerent," the man responds.

With this anecdote — alluding to the U.S. war in Iraq — former chief United Nations (U.N.) weapons inspector Hans Blix opened his address Tuesday night.

Blix told a packed audience of students and faculty that the U.N. system is still relevant to efforts to secure world peace. The current U.S. policy of "anticipatory self-defense," or responding to states that present a "growing threat," threatens to undermine that system, he said.

The former Swedish diplomat affirmed his belief that U.N. inspection regimes, coupled with efforts to control access to nuclear materials, remain the most credible and effective way of countering the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (WMD).

"To guard against violation, you need inspection," Blix said. "Independent, professional, international inspections, while not able to prove negatively the existence of WMD, came much closer to proving the truth [in Iraq] than national intelligence."

"The [United States] and the United Kingdom prefer to believe in what I called 'faith-based' intelligence," he said to laughter.

Blix, who is now leading an international WMD commission funded by the Swedish government, also strongly criticized current Bush administration efforts to develop so-called "bunker busters," or tactical nuclear weapons.

He stressed that the United States would be better served by signing the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty. This action, Blix argued, would have a domino effect, spurring China, India, Pakistan and others to sign it.

Blix also underscored the importance of multilateral efforts to assure states' security and provide them with economic incentives, thereby removing any "incentive" for procuring WMDs.

In the case of North Korea, Blix argued that the United States must aim for more North Korean "openness." "Make an economic pact constructed in a way such that it is an exit from the system that has brought about decay," Blix said, noting that similar efforts in China stand as a proven example of progress.

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Blix also emphasized the need to approach all nations with respect, calling the analysis that Iran does not need nuclear power because of its vast oil reserves "a colonialist argument."

"The argument was never advanced against Mexico, which has two nuclear plants and oil, nor was it used against Iran when the Shah was there," Blix said. At the same time, he added, '"Terrorists do not live on clouds. The international community must uphold the principle that each state is responsible for actions on its soil."

Blix, a former career diplomat from Sweden, served as head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) from 1981-97. He was plucked out of retirement in 2000 by U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan to lead the UN's weapons inspections efforts in Iraq, sparking controversy at the time.

The New York Times editorial board described him as a "man of unquestioned integrity and tact" but "uncertain resolve." The aftermath of the war in the Iraq, along with Blix's public comments on the issue — like the publication of his new book — have done nothing to quell the debate surrounding his tenure.

"The job that Hans Blix had was an impossible job," said Jon Wolfsthal, a deputy director for nonproliferation at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace who has worked with Blix.

"If he gave the [Bush] administration the answer it wanted to hear in terms of what Iraq had in terms of WMD, he didn't have the information to back it up. If he gave them the facts, the administration wasn't interested," Wolfsthal said.

Nevertheless, Blix has often been accused of approaching his work unfairly. "I think the biggest problem with Blix was that he came in with a series of biases," said Danielle Pletka, vice president of foreign and defense policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute. "Regarding Iran and North Korea, I'm glad Mr. Blix is retired," she added.

But Blix defended his work and approach. "None of our reports are political," he said in an interview with The Daily Princetonian, adding, "Since I've left the U.N., I'm a free man. Maybe you can say I'm aware of political paradigms."

The criticism of Blix doesn't come as a surprise to some analysts, though. "His personal reputation is caught up in this judgment of whether [Iraq] had weapons or they didn't," said Laura Holgate '87, a vice president at the Nuclear Threat Initiative, a group that seeks to prevent the spread of WMD.

"That's why you see this politicization," she added. "He has sort of personified the [U.N.] commission."

Near the end of Blix's address, Brooke Stoddard '05 asked the question many audience members had been waiting for. "Forgive me for asking," Stoddard said, "but what did you think of your portrayal in 'Team America'?"

The recent Hollywood flick, hugely popular among young audiences, parodied Blix along with North Korean president Kim Jong-Il and others. After the laughter settled, Blix replied, with a smile: "If you're in the center of a storm, you have to take it as it comes."