Brazil refuses nuclear inspections

Quote:
'Brazil's project also poses a conundrum for President Bush, who has called for
tighter restrictions on the enrichment of uranium, even for nuclear power, as
part of a new strategy to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons.'


As usual, we're not committed to anything but gaining an advantage.  Check out
the recommendations from the Senate Armed Services Committee for fiscal year 2004: 
http://armed-services.senate.gov/press.htm


On one hand, the SASC authorized monies to detect the activities of other
nations who may be building or testing nuclear weapons (those things are
dangerous in the wrong hands, you know).

Subcommitte on Emerging Threats and Capabilities, p. 10

'Authorized $1.3 billion for the Department of Energy nonproliferation programs,
including the development of enhanced proliferation detection and nuclear
explosion monitoring capabilities. '


And with the other, it did this:

'The subcommittee supported efforts to strengthen the nation's nuclear weapons
research, development and test readiness capabilities and program management.
Specifically, the subcommittee: 

* Authorized a provision to repeal the ban on research and development of low
yield nuclear weapons, and stated that nothing in the repeal shall be construed
as authorizing the testing, acquisition, or deployment of a low-yield nuclear
weapon. 

* Authorized a provision to require the Secretary of Energy to achieve and
maintain the ability to conduct an underground nuclear test within 18 months,
should it become necessary for the President to order such a test.

* Authorized $21.0 million for the advance concepts initiative, of which $15.0
million is directed to continue the feasibility study on the robust nuclear
earth penetrator. 

Consistent with the recommendations of the 2002 Nuclear Posture Review, the
subcommittee also sought to ensure that U.S. nuclear forces are well coordinated
with advanced conventional weapons, delivery systems, and ISR capabilities. To
support that goal, the committee required the Secretary of Defense to establish
a global strike roadmap that would provide an integrated plan to develop and
deploy global strike capabilities. ' 



The actual language that came out in the National Defense Authorization Act for
Fiscal Year 2004 was softer, but no more reassuring:
H.R. 1588, Subtitle B, Sections 3113 - 3123


Section 3117:
'The Secretary of Energy may not commence the engineering development phase
(phase 6.3) of the nuclear weapons development process, or any subsequent phase,
of a Robust Nuclear Earth Penetrator weapon unless specifically authorized by
Congress.'

(Check out 3123, for studying the feasibility of buying 'excess' plutonium and
uranium from the nations of the former USSR.)


So to sum up, we're hypocrites.  Surprise, surprise.  So now it's a toss-up. 
Whose land do we liberate next with our jack-boots of democracy?  Iran, North
Korea, Brazil?  Well, if you've got troops coming out of Iraq, hmm, you'd want
to send them somewhere nice for their next rotation.  I mean, you can catch
dysentery anywhere, but do North Korea and Iran have nude beaches?  I think not.
 Brazil it is.  





Full:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A48456-2004Apr3.html


Excerpt:

Brazil Shielding Uranium Facility
Nation Seeks to Keep Its Proprietary Data From U.N. Inspectors

By Peter Slevin
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, April 4, 2004; Page A01

The Brazilian government has refused to allow U.N. nuclear inspectors to examine
a facility for enriching uranium under construction near Rio de Janeiro,
according to Brazilian officials and diplomats in Vienna, home of the
International Atomic Energy Agency.
	

The IAEA and Brazil are at an impasse over the inspections, the diplomats said.
Brazil maintains that the facility will produce low-enriched uranium for use in
power plants, not the highly enriched material used in nuclear weapons.
Nonetheless, Brazil refuses to let IAEA inspectors see equipment in the plant,
citing a need to protect proprietary information.

The diplomatic standoff plays into fears that a new type of nuclear race is
underway, marked not by the bold pursuit of atomic weapons but by the quiet and
lawful development of sophisticated technology for nuclear energy production,
which can be quickly converted into a weapons program.

Brazil's project also poses a conundrum for President Bush, who has called for
tighter restrictions on the enrichment of uranium, even for nuclear power, as
part of a new strategy to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons.

Nonproliferation specialists say that if the United States and the United
Nations do not act to curtail Brazil's program, or at least insist on
inspections, the lack of action could undermine White House calls for Iran and
North Korea to halt their efforts to enrich uranium.

"If we don't want these kinds of facilities in Iran or North Korea, we shouldn't
want them in Brazil," said former U.S. nuclear negotiator James E. Goodby. "You
have to apply the same rules to adversaries as you do to friends. I do not see
that happening in Brazil."

Brazil's shrouded technology at the plant in Resende belongs to a program
considered legal under international treaties, but it remains subject to U.N.
inspections, aimed at making sure it is not used for producing weapons-grade
material for itself or customers.

The IAEA has dispatched inspectors to Resende in recent months, only to find
significant portions of the facility and its contents shielded from view,
diplomats said. Walls have been built and coverings are draped over the
equipment, according to reports from specialists who have visited the plant,
which is in the early stages of construction.

Brazilian officials maintain that the facility falls within rules allowing
countries to develop the nuclear fuel cycle for peaceful uses. They say
intrusive IAEA inspections are unnecessary because Brazil, which formally
forswore nuclear weapons in the 1990s, is seeking a secure and inexpensive
source of nuclear power, and has no lingering atomic weapons ambitions. 

-x
--
If you need me, I'll be watching Dr. Strangelove.
_______________________________________________
heads mailing list
[email protected]
http://ballistichelmet.org/mailman/listinfo/heads/
http://ballistichelmet.org/donate/