For those worried about Iraq's re-admission into normal world relations and a resumption of oil exports, read the interesting NY Times article based on reports from a defector head of the Iraqi Nuclear Bomb program:
nytimes.com
<<The scientist, Khidhir Abdul Abas Hamza, said that before he fled Iraq in 1994 he helped train a cadre of young scientists who, working with more senior scientists involved in other projects, would be capable of quickly resuming Iraq's atomic weapons program if the United Nations cuts back on its inspections and, ultimately, lifts economic sanctions.>>
<<On the eve of the Persian Gulf War in 1991, Hamza said, Iraq had completed all the research and testing needed for an atomic weapon and was feverishly trying to make at least one crude bomb using uranium from civilian reactors. This effort, Hamza said, could have produced a bomb in a few months, but it was disrupted by the allied bombing campaign. >>
<<Hamza defected soon after, and he continues to anxiously follow the Iraqi nuclear program from afar. He insisted that Saddam remains determined to reconstitute the chemical, biological and nuclear programs in which he invested so much. "Without these props, he would lose power," he said. >>
Are we going to let Saddam finance a nuclear program that is not far from completion? I don't think so! Perhaps Saddam now realizes this, hence the new non-cooperation (ie. nothing to lose at this point.) Could be interesting times ahead in the Middle East.
Richard
Still long as ever. BTW, PTEN stopped declining with the OSX recently. |
