The World Gets Safer - Six Arab Nations To Pursue Nuclear Power

[Mike Ellis]

Ah, it does the heart good to see well-intentioned meddling pay off. With nuclear power in the hands of more Islamic fundamentalist nations, we can all rest a little easier at night.

It's a good thing President Bush had the foresight to broker that deal and bring another 15-20,000 Saudi Arabian students over here to study such things at our universities, as it'll speed up their weapons program dramatically - especially if we give them some free new-ku-lar fuel.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article...436948,00.html

Six Arab states join rush to go nuclear
By Richard Beeston, Diplomatic Editor

Algeria, Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia, UAE and Saudi Arabia seek atom technology

THE SPECTRE of a nuclear race in the Middle East was raised yesterday when six Arab states announced that they were embarking on programmes to master atomic technology.

The move, which follows the failure by the West to curb Iran’s controversial nuclear programme, could see a rapid spread of nuclear reactors in one of the world’s most unstable regions, stretching from the Gulf to the Levant and into North Africa.

(snip)

The announcement by the six nations is a stunning reversal of policy in the Arab world, which had until recently been pressing for a nuclear free Middle East, where only Israel has nuclear weapons.

Egypt and other North African states can argue with some justification that they need cheap, safe energy for their expanding economies and growing populations at a time of high oil prices.

The case will be much harder for Saudi Arabia, which sits on the world’s largest oil reserves. Earlier this year Prince Saud al-Faisal, the Foreign Minister, told The Times that his country opposed the spread of nuclear power and weapons in the Arab world.

Since then, however, the Iranians have accelerated their nuclear power and enrichment programmes.

Yep, this will end well....