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continental missiles. India has ex–
ploded a nuclear device and possesses
an air force that could deliver it. So
far, however, India has not -chosen to
put nuclear devices in any of her
airplanes.
Now add Israel and South Africa
as potentials to the list, despite offi–
cial disclaimers. A number of observ–
ers have pointed ou t that both
nations see themselves as having a
unique culture, deriving its authority
from the Bible. Both see their very
existence threatened by "barbarían
bordes ringing the frontiers. "
South Africa aiready has a nuclear
power plant under construction at
Koeberg in the Cape Province, as
well as sophisticated technology and
trained personnel. And there is no
doubt that South Africa has the
ready capability ofmaking a bomb, a
fact acknowledged by the vice presi–
dent of the country's atomic energy
board.
As for Israel, a mistakenly declas–
sified 1974 CIA report said plainly;
"We believe Israel has already pro–
duced nuclear weapons." Israel has
had a nuclear reactor since the late
1950s, producing enough plutonium
to make one bomba year. Moreover,
it is widely believed that when 200
pounds of enriched uranium vanished
from a Pennsylvania processing plant
in the mid-1960s, that Israel was its
destination. (See "The Case of the
Missing Uranium," by David Burn–
ham, April, 1979,
Atlantic. )
Europe and Japan
Almost every country in Western
Europe has an
immediate
nuclear
option. Britain and France already
have the bomb. West Germany, Ita–
ly, Spain and Belgium have access to
all the plutonium they need because
each possesses a reprocessing plant.
For all practica! purposes Western
Europe is now a nuclear area. The
Europeans are capable of putting
together a sizable number of nuclear
warheads in a matter of montbs. And
this would be in addition to the 100
nuclear weapon storage sites (now
under American control) a lready
scattered throughout Europe in the
context of NATO.
This state of atfairs is exactly in
accord with Bible propJ:¡ecy, which
declares that one day Western Eu–
rope, in the form of a resurrected
14
Roman Empire, will feel compelled
to engage in nuclear warfare (see
e.g., Daniel 11:44) .
Japan, likewise, can go nuclear at
will since it also possesses a repro–
cessing plant.
The Middle East
The crisis in Afghanistan has once
again focused wor ld attention on a
possible Pakjstani bomb. Denied a
French reprocessing plant because of
American pressure, Pakistan turned
to other methods. Over the past five
years, Pakistan has secretJy bought
tbe various parts to make a gas
centrifuge uranium enrichment
plant. l ndeed, when U.S. intelligence
agents finally deduced the reason
behind Pakistan's "buying spree" of
nuclear equipment, Washington cut
off most aid. The Soviet intervention
in Afghanistan, however, is changing
that. America's antiproliferation pol–
icy is being "bent" because of the
urgency of shoring up its ally.
The London
Times
has asserted
that the uranium for Pakistan's
nuciear project has come from a
1979 desert hijacking near a French
mine in Africa. At any rate, Paki–
stan's desire to build the bomb is
unquestionable. Its late Prime Minis–
ter Ali Bhutto declared that "We will
eat leaves and grass, even go hungry"
to have nuclear weapons.
Indeed, Pakistan's bomb may not
just be for itself, but for the Islamic
world as a whole. Sorne observers
believe t hat the Pakistani nuclear
project was really masterminded by
Libya and Saudi Arabia, desiring a
nuclear counterweight lo Israel's
bomb.
Libya, however, seems especially
anxious to gel nuclear weapons in its
own right. Arms control authorities
say that Libyan leader Moammar
Khadafy has a standing offer to pay
$1
O
mi Ilion to anyone who can
deliver him an A-bomb. And one
former CIA official , Cord Meyer,
says that in 1971 Mr. Khadafy sent
an aide to mainland China to buy a
nuclear weapon . (He was turned
down.) Moreover, Pakistani officials
have now confirmed that when Paki–
stan was making its earlier attempt
to buy a reprocessing plant from the
French, Mr . Khadafy offered to
finance it in return for the plutonium
by-product.
Two other nuclear possibili ties are
Iraq and Iran. Shah Reza Pahlavi of
Iran once declared that his country
would be the next to go nuclear . This
desire was confirmed by Iran's acqui–
sition of experimental uranium en–
richment technology in 1977-1978 .
And lraq? According to di plomatic
sources in Brazil, Iraq is planning to
use its leverage as Brazil's largest oil
supplier to have access to the nuclear
fue! and technology that Brazil is
getting from West Germany. More–
over, last year a nuclear reactor
being built in France for l raq was
sabotaged. Israelí agents are believed
responsible.
Latln Amerlca and the
Far East
The Brazilians, for their part, are the
recipients of the Iargest export deal
in West German history. The deal is
for eight nuclear power plants and a
reprocessing plant.
Argentina is pushing ahead with a
$5
billion program for four nuclear
reactors. It plans to have a going
reprocessing plant by 1990 and was
the first country in Latín America to
have an operating nuclear power
sta~
tion, now generating 10 percent of
the country's electricity.
South Korea is another candidate.
It has one power plant a lready going,
and two more scheduled to begin
operating in 1982-1983. A group of
South Korea legislators have called
for their country to develop nuclear
weapons in case American protection
is ever withdrawn. And one CIA
report notes that the late President
Park, j ust before bis assassination,
was seeking to buy a reprocessing
plant from France.
Taiwan, too, is a potential nuclear
power. One Taiwan official was
reported to have said that the coun–
try could turn out a nuclear bomb
"within a matter of weeks." Taiwan
has one operating plant and five
more are being built.
The Next Nuclear War
The main fear in nuclear proliferation
is the temptation to use such weapons
in local conflicts. One country, know–
ing its neighbor had nuclear weapons,
but not having capacity to absorb a
surprise attack and still retaliate,
would be under incredible pressure to
(Continuedonpage 37)
The PLAIN TRUTH