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Goes the Doomsday Clock....
There was an article yesterday saying that the Committee who "runs" the clock had moved it up towards midnight. Looks like it might move another few minutes shortly......
Jordan's King Seeks 'Peaceful' Nuclear Program
POSTED: 10:01 am EST January 19, 2007
UPDATED: 10:25 am EST January 19, 2007
JERUSALEM -- Jordan's King Abdullah II told an Israeli newspaper Friday that his country wants its own nuclear program.
In an interview with the daily Haaretz, Abdullah said his desert kingdom, which borders Israel and has a peace agreement with it, wanted nuclear power "for peaceful purposes" and was already discussing its plans with Western countries.
"The rules governing the nuclear issue have changed in the entire region," the Jordanian leader told Haaretz, noting that Egypt and several Gulf states have declared their desire for a nuclear program. Though Jordan would rather see a Middle East free of nuclear weapons, he said, "every desire we had on this issue has changed."
The comments marked the first time Abdullah spoke openly about desires for a Jordanian nuclear program for peaceful purposes.
Miri Eisin, a spokeswoman for Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, would not comment.
Shlomo Brom, a researcher at the Institute for National Strategic Studies and former head of strategic planning for the Israeli military, said Abdullah was likely not serious about developing a nuclear program. "The Jordanians don't have the resources," Brom said.
Brom said the Jordanian king was probably trying to make the point that if Iran, which is moving ahead with its nuclear program despite international protests and U.N.-imposed sanctions, is allowed to become a nuclear power, then a regional nuclear race will be unavoidable.
"Abdullah might be saying that if the Iranians aren't prevented from getting a nuclear program, Jordan and everyone else will want one of their own," Brom said.
Israel fears that Iran's nuclear program, which the Iranian government says is for civilian purposes, is actually intended to produce nuclear weapons that could be used against Israel. Iran's president, Mahmoud Ahmedinejad, has said Israel should be "wiped off the map."
Israel is widely believed to have nuclear weapons of its own, but has never officially confirmed that it does.
In the Haaretz interview, Abdullah said Iran, through its support for the radical Islamic Palestinian group Hamas, had established a role for itself in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, despite its geographical and cultural distance.
"Through Hamas, Iran has been able to buy itself a seat on the table in talking about the Palestinian issue," he said. "As a result, through Hamas it does play a role in the issue of the Palestinians, as strange as that should sound."
Abdullah said that peace between Israel and the Palestinians was key to broader Middle East stability and should take precedence over the unresolved dispute between Israel and Syria.
"Solving the Israeli-Palestinian problem allows us to tackle the other issues around us. All of us are looking at Iraq with concern, we don't know what's going to happen in Lebanon, although we hope that they're moving in the right direction," he said. "Whether people like it or not, the linchpin is always the Israeli-Palestinian problem."
Abdullah said the Palestinian issue could help make other issues easier.
"Syria seems to be of tremendous interest in the Israeli public opinion, but I think that the priority, if you want to get the guarantees that Israel wants for a stable future, the core issue takes the priority. We have to launch the Palestinian process and then hope that things will go easier with the other players."
Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press.
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On January 12, 2007, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists in a press release noted that the Doomsday clock was to be moved forward to highlight the "Most Perilous Period Since Hiroshima and Nagasaki."
The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists (BAS) will move the minute hand of the "Doomsday Clock" on January 17, 2007...the first such change to the Clock since February 2002. The major new step reflects growing concerns about a "Second Nuclear Age" marked by grave threats, including: nuclear ambitions in Iran and North Korea, unsecured nuclear materials in Russia and elsewhere, the continuing "launch-ready" status of 2,000 of the 25,000 nuclear weapons held by the U.S. and Russia, escalating terrorism, and new pressure from climate change for expanded civilian nuclear power that could increase proliferation risks.
The official announcement of the most recent change to five minutes to midnight took place on January 17, 2007 at 14:30 hours GMT.
Anyone remember their chemistry classes, and what happens to SAND when it gets glowing hot?
There was an article yesterday saying that the Committee who "runs" the clock had moved it up towards midnight. Looks like it might move another few minutes shortly......
Jordan's King Seeks 'Peaceful' Nuclear Program
POSTED: 10:01 am EST January 19, 2007
UPDATED: 10:25 am EST January 19, 2007
JERUSALEM -- Jordan's King Abdullah II told an Israeli newspaper Friday that his country wants its own nuclear program.
In an interview with the daily Haaretz, Abdullah said his desert kingdom, which borders Israel and has a peace agreement with it, wanted nuclear power "for peaceful purposes" and was already discussing its plans with Western countries.
"The rules governing the nuclear issue have changed in the entire region," the Jordanian leader told Haaretz, noting that Egypt and several Gulf states have declared their desire for a nuclear program. Though Jordan would rather see a Middle East free of nuclear weapons, he said, "every desire we had on this issue has changed."
The comments marked the first time Abdullah spoke openly about desires for a Jordanian nuclear program for peaceful purposes.
Miri Eisin, a spokeswoman for Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, would not comment.
Shlomo Brom, a researcher at the Institute for National Strategic Studies and former head of strategic planning for the Israeli military, said Abdullah was likely not serious about developing a nuclear program. "The Jordanians don't have the resources," Brom said.
Brom said the Jordanian king was probably trying to make the point that if Iran, which is moving ahead with its nuclear program despite international protests and U.N.-imposed sanctions, is allowed to become a nuclear power, then a regional nuclear race will be unavoidable.
"Abdullah might be saying that if the Iranians aren't prevented from getting a nuclear program, Jordan and everyone else will want one of their own," Brom said.
Israel fears that Iran's nuclear program, which the Iranian government says is for civilian purposes, is actually intended to produce nuclear weapons that could be used against Israel. Iran's president, Mahmoud Ahmedinejad, has said Israel should be "wiped off the map."
Israel is widely believed to have nuclear weapons of its own, but has never officially confirmed that it does.
In the Haaretz interview, Abdullah said Iran, through its support for the radical Islamic Palestinian group Hamas, had established a role for itself in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, despite its geographical and cultural distance.
"Through Hamas, Iran has been able to buy itself a seat on the table in talking about the Palestinian issue," he said. "As a result, through Hamas it does play a role in the issue of the Palestinians, as strange as that should sound."
Abdullah said that peace between Israel and the Palestinians was key to broader Middle East stability and should take precedence over the unresolved dispute between Israel and Syria.
"Solving the Israeli-Palestinian problem allows us to tackle the other issues around us. All of us are looking at Iraq with concern, we don't know what's going to happen in Lebanon, although we hope that they're moving in the right direction," he said. "Whether people like it or not, the linchpin is always the Israeli-Palestinian problem."
Abdullah said the Palestinian issue could help make other issues easier.
"Syria seems to be of tremendous interest in the Israeli public opinion, but I think that the priority, if you want to get the guarantees that Israel wants for a stable future, the core issue takes the priority. We have to launch the Palestinian process and then hope that things will go easier with the other players."
Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press.
--------
On January 12, 2007, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists in a press release noted that the Doomsday clock was to be moved forward to highlight the "Most Perilous Period Since Hiroshima and Nagasaki."
The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists (BAS) will move the minute hand of the "Doomsday Clock" on January 17, 2007...the first such change to the Clock since February 2002. The major new step reflects growing concerns about a "Second Nuclear Age" marked by grave threats, including: nuclear ambitions in Iran and North Korea, unsecured nuclear materials in Russia and elsewhere, the continuing "launch-ready" status of 2,000 of the 25,000 nuclear weapons held by the U.S. and Russia, escalating terrorism, and new pressure from climate change for expanded civilian nuclear power that could increase proliferation risks.
The official announcement of the most recent change to five minutes to midnight took place on January 17, 2007 at 14:30 hours GMT.
Anyone remember their chemistry classes, and what happens to SAND when it gets glowing hot?
(Me)
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