Bjórá 49

4.11.2006 | 04:48

Þegar ein kýrin.....

Það hefur löngum loðað við mennina að vilja eiga sömu hluti og nágrannarnir, helst stærri og flottari

Það er ein ástæðan fyrir því að það getur reynst hættulegt og friðspillandi ef Íran nær að koma sér upp kjarnorkusprengjum.

Nú má lesa á vef Times að "kjarnorkubylgja" gangi um arabaríkin. Algería, Egyptaland, Marokko, Túnis, Sameinuðu furstadæmi og Sádi Arabía, haf víst öll hug á því að beisla kjarnorkutæknina.

Auðvitað segja þau, rétt eins og Íran, að þau ætli aðeins að nota þetta í friðsamlegum tilgangi, en kjarnorkuvopnakapphlaup í þessum óstabíla heimshluta, er ekki eitthvað sem hljómar freistandi.

Aðeins úr frétt Times:

"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.

The countries involved were named by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) as Algeria, Egypt, Morocco and Saudi Arabia. Tunisia and the UAE have also shown interest.

All want to build civilian nuclear energy programmes, as they are permitted to under international law. But the sudden rush to nuclear power has raised suspicions that the real intention is to acquire nuclear technology which could be used for the first Arab atomic bomb.

“Some Middle East states, including Egypt, Morocco, Algeria and Saudi Arabia, have shown initial interest [in using] nuclear power primarily for desalination purposes,” Tomihiro Taniguch, the deputy director-general of the IAEA, told the business weekly Middle East Economic Digest. He said that they had held preliminary discussions with the governments and that the IAEA’s technical advisory programme would be offered to them to help with studies into creating power plants."

"“If Iran was not on the path to a nuclear weapons capability you would probably not see this sudden rush [in the Arab world],” he said.

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."

Fréttina í heild má finna hér.

Er best að birta öll leyndarmálin og leyfa hverjum sem hafa vill að koma sér upp kjarnorkusprengju, treysta aftur á "ógnarjafnvægið"?

Eða getur "alþjóðasamfélagið" gert eitthvað?

Eða væri betri lausn að setja upp alþjóðlega "eldsneytisstöð", þar sem allir sem vildu gætu fengið úran, en yrðu að skila "úrgangnum"? Myndu þessar þjóðir sætta sig við það?

Einhvern veginn stefnir þetta ekki í rétta átt.