Bush Pushes Persian Gulf Nuclear Agreement

Rich Clabaugh/STAFF

From The Christian Science Monitor:

But critics say the US should go slowly on a deal that would help Iran's biggest trading partner.

Washington - The Bush administration is quietly advancing a nuclear cooperation agreement with the United Arab Emirates (UAE), raising concerns in Congress and among nonproliferation experts about the deal's repercussions in a volatile region.

The deal to provide the small but strategically located country with the means to generate electricity through nuclear technology could be signed by President Bush before he leaves office, thus making the accord – similar to the much higherprofile nuclear pact the administration reached with India – part of his legacy.

But that would leave the incoming Obama administration with the task of taking the agreement to Congress, where objections over the UAE's close trade relations with Iran – and over the Emirates' history of serving as a transshipment point for sensitive materials – are already rising.

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My Comment: The critics have a point. Why is this small Arab country interested in nuclear energy .... when they have enough energy to meet their electrical needs for generations. The answer is obvious .... they want to wet their feet in understanding nuclear technology and all of its offshoots .... including the production of fissionable materials. This treaty should be killed by Congress .... but the problem is that the U.A.E. has the monies and contacts to get the same technology from someone else. It is going to be interesting to see the direction that President Obama is going to take.