London, Nov. 4 (PTI): The spectre of a nuclear race in the Middle East is evident with six Arab states announcing their intention to embark on programmes to master atomic technology, media reports said today.
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, a report in the business weekly Middle East Economic Digest said.
All these countries want to build civilian nuclear energy programmes as they are permitted to do so 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, the report 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, the Times reported.
All right, so they're just pursuing nuclear energy for peaceful purposes. Because, of course, Arab countries are in desperate need of finding some alternative form of energy, so that they won't be dependent upon foreign oil....oh, wait a minute, maybe not.
I can't believe that this has been around all day, including on AP and Reuters, and no one is talking about it. Especially after we so graciously provided plans on the internet for those looking for nuclear options.