So The Race Begins

from the May 27, 2008 eNews issue

A new report published by the International Institute for Strategic Studies shows that global interest in developing nuclear technology has risen significantly in recent years. Rising oil prices and other factors have prompted more than 40 countries worldwide to announce that they are either starting new or expanding existing nuclear energy programs. Included in this list is almost every country in the Middle East. In the space of less than a year, 13 nations in the Middle East have announced plans to explore atomic energy. Each of these countries has abundant oil and gas reserves, which is why some experts fear that Iran's nuclear ambitions may have triggered the start of a nuclear arms race in the Middle East.

According to the International Institute for Strategic Studies, some Arab countries might be developing nuclear energy now so they will have the option of building a bomb in the future. Nuclear technology is complex and costly, and developing nuclear weapons is not something that can be done overnight. It takes time to build the necessary infrastructure. However once built, the same nuclear technology used to generate electricity can also be used to develop weapons. It would not be the first time countries (such as India and Pakistan) have claimed that they were developing nuclear technology for peaceful purposes, but then have used that same technology to develop nuclear weapons.

In the past year it seems the Middle East has been struck with nuclear fever: Egypt is building four nuclear power plants, while Turkey has plans for three. The United Arab Emirates, despite its vast oil wealth, has signed an agreement with France to build two nuclear reactors. Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Jordan, Syria and Yemen are also planning nuclear plants, as are the North African nations of Libya, Algeria and Morocco.

If the nations of the Middle East develop peaceful nuclear energy programs, how difficult would it be to use that technology to make nuclear weapons? Well, nuclear power plants need 3 to 4 percent enriched uranium for fuel, but natural uranium only contains 0.7 percent. Thus uranium must be processed in a uranium enrichment facility before it can be used as fuel for nuclear power. What most people don't realize is the exact same technology and equipment used to enrich uranium for fuel can be used to enrich uranium for nuclear weapons, it simply requires more passes through the enrichment plant. A nuclear bomb requires about 90 percent enriched uranium, which is high compared to the percentage found in fuel, but according to experts it requires more energy to convert natural uranium to fuel than it takes to convert fuel into weapons-grade uranium.

According to the International Atomic Energy Agency there are more than 40 countries with peaceful nuclear programs that could modify their technology to create nuclear weapons. There are currently about 439 nuclear power plants worldwide, with 30 more under construction, and over 200 now in the planning stages.