Why Is Bush Helping Saudi Arabia Build Nukes?
By EDWARD J. MARKEY
Wall Street Journal
June 10, 2008
Here's a quick geopolitical quiz: What country is three times the size of Texas and has more than 300 days of blazing sun a year? What country has the world's largest oil reserves resting below miles upon miles of sand? And what country is being given nuclear power, not solar, by President George W. Bush, even when the mere assumption of nuclear possession in its region has been known to provoke pre-emptive air strikes, even wars?
If you answered Saudi Arabia to all of these questions, you're right.
Last month, while the American people were becoming the personal ATMs of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was in Saudi Arabia signing away an even more valuable gift: nuclear technology. In a ceremony little-noticed in this country, Ms. Rice volunteered the U.S. to assist Saudi Arabia in developing nuclear reactors, training nuclear engineers, and constructing nuclear infrastructure. While oil breaks records at $130 per barrel or more, the American consumer is footing the bill for Saudi Arabia's nuclear ambitions.
Saudi Arabia has poured money into developing its vast reserves of natural gas for domestic electricity production. It continues to invest in a national gas transportation pipeline and stepped-up exploration, building a solid foundation for domestic energy production that could meet its electricity needs for many decades. Nuclear energy, on the other hand, would require enormous investments in new infrastructure by a country with zero expertise in this complex technology.
(Continued here.)
Wall Street Journal
June 10, 2008
Here's a quick geopolitical quiz: What country is three times the size of Texas and has more than 300 days of blazing sun a year? What country has the world's largest oil reserves resting below miles upon miles of sand? And what country is being given nuclear power, not solar, by President George W. Bush, even when the mere assumption of nuclear possession in its region has been known to provoke pre-emptive air strikes, even wars?
If you answered Saudi Arabia to all of these questions, you're right.
Last month, while the American people were becoming the personal ATMs of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was in Saudi Arabia signing away an even more valuable gift: nuclear technology. In a ceremony little-noticed in this country, Ms. Rice volunteered the U.S. to assist Saudi Arabia in developing nuclear reactors, training nuclear engineers, and constructing nuclear infrastructure. While oil breaks records at $130 per barrel or more, the American consumer is footing the bill for Saudi Arabia's nuclear ambitions.
Saudi Arabia has poured money into developing its vast reserves of natural gas for domestic electricity production. It continues to invest in a national gas transportation pipeline and stepped-up exploration, building a solid foundation for domestic energy production that could meet its electricity needs for many decades. Nuclear energy, on the other hand, would require enormous investments in new infrastructure by a country with zero expertise in this complex technology.
(Continued here.)
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1 Comments:
Hey, guess who else wants nuclear power ?
Iraq !
Iraqi Electricity Minister Karim Wahid, whose country has the world’s third-largest oil reserves, made a plea last week for French nuclear investment.
Iraq and France signed a nuclear power pact in 1976, and construction began on Iraq’s first nuclear power plant in 1979. But in June 1981, during the Iraq-Iran war, Israel bombed the incomplete plant, ostensibly to prevent former dictator Saddam Hussein from developing nuclear weapons. The nuclear waste released in this attack has still not been cleaned up.
Gee, whiz … nice thanks for all America’s rebuilding efforts !
But then again, as the Washington Post reported that the America – India Nuclear Pact is not generating business for America. U.S. companies need to comply with "Part 810" licensing requirements that govern all commercial nuclear exports. The 810 is a permit that is required to ensure that there is no re-transfer of American nuclear information and technology from safeguarded to non-safeguarded facilities. I hope that Obama’s team will ensure that all reprocess spent fuel is properly managed.
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