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Who's Next to Go Nuclear?

[Washington Post] Andrew Grotto - Over the next decade, keep your eye on certain nations that may go nuclear. If isolated and impoverished North Korea can get away with developing and testing nuclear weapons, better-positioned countries such as Iran may be emboldened to think they can, too. Last month, Gamal Mubarak, son of the Egyptian president and widely viewed as next in line, suggested that Egypt pursue nuclear energy. In a thinly veiled reference to Iran, he noted that Egypt "is not the only country that is thinking about this alternative to save on energy sources." Saudi Arabia helped finance Pakistan's nuclear program, and its leaders are rumored to have met with A.Q. Khan, the father of Pakistan's nuclear bomb and the mastermind of a global black market in nuclear technology. The Saudis could obtain a weapon from Pakistan or invite Pakistan to station some of its weapons at Saudi bases. This could be legal under the NPT, just as the U.S. stations nuclear weapons at European bases. The writer is a senior national security analyst at the Center for American Progress.
2006-10-16 01:00:00
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