Uranium Enrichment Hanky-Panky Down South
I've researched Brazil's nuclear weapons program, and as far as transparency goes, it's been a mess for 50 years. A huge proliferation scandal in 1989 made it clear that grave NPT infractions did not stop with the dissolution of the military dictatorship in 1985.
Why does Brazil's case deserve scrutiny? One expert in this NPR report says Brazil and Iran's weapons programs look pretty much the same from the outside. More important is the light that Brazil's case sheds on the nonproliferation climate since the invasion of Iraq. Lula's decision last year to give up on Cardoso's 1995 nuclear freeze may have been a huge mistake, but he was able to get away with it because of international resentment over the Iraq war (and, to a lesser extent, US agricultural subsidies). Lula has since chosen to mount a challenge to the US and assert himself as a leader in Latin America and a spokesman for the developing world.
Can the genie be put back in the bottle?
Why does Brazil's case deserve scrutiny? One expert in this NPR report says Brazil and Iran's weapons programs look pretty much the same from the outside. More important is the light that Brazil's case sheds on the nonproliferation climate since the invasion of Iraq. Lula's decision last year to give up on Cardoso's 1995 nuclear freeze may have been a huge mistake, but he was able to get away with it because of international resentment over the Iraq war (and, to a lesser extent, US agricultural subsidies). Lula has since chosen to mount a challenge to the US and assert himself as a leader in Latin America and a spokesman for the developing world.
Can the genie be put back in the bottle?
posted by hellisotherpeople at 6:46 PM
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