مصطفی/Mistefa: "A story of fearful madness": A story of fearful madness All nuclear reactors produce plutonium, which can be used to make atomic bombs – but only after reprocessing. Bombs can also be made with highly enriched uranium. However, both methods require the construction of special installations. By 1996 most of the coun-tries that had the necessary advanced technology had signed the NPT and accepted IAEA ‘safeguards’; nuclear-armed China and France, after long resistance to the NPT, had accepted it. Argentina, Brazil and South Africa had abandoned their attempts to make atomic bombs; in 1992, Argentina and Brazil accepted the 1967 Tlatelolco Treaty (74). But there was still cause for concern about some countries that were rated as ‘near-nuclear’. In the 1990s, India, Israel and Pakistan were still rejecting the NPT, and (despite off i cial denials) it was believed that they had made much progress towards acquiring nuclear arsenals. India had staged a test explosion in 1974, claiming that it had only ‘peaceful purposes’ in mind, and carried out further tests in 1998. These prompted Pakistan to conduct its own tests the same year, expanding formal membership of the ‘nuclear club’ to seven. In 2006 the US and France signed agreements with India allowing for the transfer of ‘civilian’ nuclear technology. India accepted IAEA inspection of ‘civilian’ nuclear facilities – but it did not agree to limit future weapon production, allow monitoring of ‘military’ facilities, or sign the NPT . Israel is not known to have carried out tests, but it is thought that Israel has completed the bomb-making process and has constructed a number of weapons in an effort to discourage attack by its larger neighbours.

A story of fearful madness

All nuclear reactors produce plutonium, which can be used to make atomic bombs – but only after reprocessing. Bombs can also be made with highly enriched uranium. However, both methods require the construction of special installations. By 1996 most of the coun-tries that had the necessary advanced technology had signed the NPT and accepted IAEA ‘safeguards’; nuclear-armed China and France, after long resistance to the NPT, had accepted it. Argentina, Brazil and South Africa had abandoned their attempts to make atomic bombs; in 1992, Argentina and Brazil accepted the 1967 Tlatelolco Treaty (74). But there was still cause for concern about some countries that were rated as ‘near-nuclear’. In the 1990s, India, Israel and Pakistan were still rejecting the NPT, and (despite off i cial denials) it was believed that they had made much progress towards acquiring nuclear arsenals. India had staged a test explosion in 1974, claiming that it had only ‘peaceful purposes’ in mind, and carried out further tests in 1998. These prompted Pakistan to conduct its own tests the same year, expanding formal membership of the ‘nuclear club’ to seven. In 2006 the US and France signed agreements with India allowing for the transfer of ‘civilian’ nuclear technology. India accepted IAEA inspection of ‘civilian’ nuclear facilities – but it did not agree to limit future weapon production, allow monitoring of ‘military’ facilities, or sign the NPT . Israel is not known to have carried out tests, but it is thought that Israel has completed the bomb-making process and has constructed a number of weapons in an effort to discourage attack by its larger neighbours.

An Atlas of World Affairs Andrew Boyd

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مصطفی/Mistefa