Pulls the Fuel Out of the Fire

By Andrew Bast
Preventing the spread of nuclear weapons is an enormous challenge, in large part because states in pursuit of the bomb can easily claim they're only after peaceful nuclear power--the same enrichment facilities can be used to create fuel for a reactor or a missile. Indeed, this has long been Iran's strategy, using its right to nuclear energy as camouflage for more sinister goals. But a new initiative will make it much harder for other Middle Eastern states to use the same excuse. Iran's neighbor the United Arab Emirates has decided to skip the shadow games and enter the nuclear club through the front door, recently announcing that it will spend $40 billion to build an estimated eight nuclear plants over the next several decades. And in a groundbreaking deal inked by the Bush administration and approved by President Obama, the U.A.E. promises not to construct its own uranium-enrichment facilities but will instead outsource the entire fuel cycle--from enrichment to reprocessing--to an established nuclear country. That sets a precedent for places like Saudi Arabia and Egypt that say they want nuclear energy but not the bomb. Why go to the expensive trouble of enriching uranium if France or the U.S. will do it for you? They can still insist--but it'll now be much harder to convince the world that their intentions are anything but bad.