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16 May 2008
United States Supports Saudi Arabian Civil Nuclear Program

Energy, security top agenda in Bush’s second stop on Mideast visit
President Bush with Saudi King Abdullah
President Bush with Saudi King Abdullah on May 16 (© AP Images)

By David McKeeby
Staff Writer

Washington -- President Bush met with Saudi King Abdullah to celebrate 75 years of diplomatic relations and announce a new agreement pledging U.S. support for Saudi Arabia as it builds a civil nuclear energy program that benefits its people, observes international nonproliferation standards and prevents the spread of nuclear weapons.

“This agreement will pave the way for Saudi Arabia's access to safe, reliable fuel sources for energy reactors and demonstrate Saudi leadership as a positive nonproliferation model for the region,” a May 16 White House fact sheet said.  The agreement is one of four reached between Bush and Abdullah during a day of private talks at al Janadriyah, the King’s horse farm and retreat outside Riyadh.

As home to the world’s largest oil reserves, Saudi Arabia produces 7.5 million barrels of oil per day but seeks nuclear energy for use in industrial-scale desalinization and in medicine -- as showcased in first lady Laura Bush’s visit to a Saudi women's cancer clinic during the day -- and as an environmentally sustainable alternative to fossil fuels.

The United States will provide training and support to build a civil nuclear program that will operate according to guidelines established by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), according to the fact sheet. The agreement will be the first step toward building a comprehensive framework for future U.S.-Saudi nuclear cooperation similar to a March 2008 agreement with neighboring Bahrain. (See “Bahrain, United States to Cooperate on Nuclear Energy.”)

The agreement will also further Saudi efforts to formulate a joint nuclear technology program with fellow Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) members Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.

Saudi Arabia’s plan for civil nuclear energy, as well as those of its Gulf neighbors, stands in marked contrast to the internationally controversial nuclear program of nearby Iran, says Bush’s National Security Advisor Stephen Hadley.

“Iran, of course, got into the nuclear business in secret with a program outside the IAEA safeguards … almost calculated in a way to raise suspicions in the international community that they had something else in mind,” said Hadley.

As a further demonstration of Saudi Arabia’s commitment to the safe pursuit of civil nuclear power, it also became the latest country to join the Proliferation Security Initiative, an 85-nation partnership established by the United States in 2003 to track and freeze shipments of banned weapons worldwide.  Saudi Arabia also joined the Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism, a 70-nation partnership launched in 2006 by Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin to strengthen controls and enhance international cooperation in the name of nuclear safety.

In recent years, Saudi Arabia’s oil wealth has become a terrorist target, as seen in the February 2006 attack on the Abqaiq complex.  Al-Qaida subsequently claimed responsibility for the incident, in which operatives detonated two large car bombs, then unsuccessfully attempted the storm the facility, killing four security guards and wounding 10 others.  A fourth U.S.-Saudi agreement will strengthen security ties by creating a joint commission tasked with further strengthening Saudi borders and coasts and expand cooperation with the Saudi Interior Ministry.

Bush will complete his Middle East tour in Egypt's Red Sea resort Sharm El-Sheikh, where he will meet with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Afghan President Hamid Karzai, Pakistani Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani and other regional leaders gathered for the World Economic Forum on the Middle East.

A White House fact sheet on the U.S.-Saudi agreements is available from America.gov.

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It's expensive to have rich friends, eh?

Well...is this Bush Administration Hypocrisy? A positive action that would lower gas prices and while increasing energy security? A total non-issue?

IMO, its incredibly shortsighted thing to do (and it shows that we dont seem to learn from past experiences in the region.) We oversold weapons, fighter jets, and civil nuclear technology to the Shah back in the 70s, and then all those things came under the control of a hostile regime after the Revolution. And, although I never hear about it in the media, SA doesnt seem all that stable of a monarchy. There was an attempted coup that nearly lead to civil war in the mid 90's, and obviously the country is a hotbed of extremism and terrorist production.

Also, ( i know this is far fetched) instead of exporting nuke material and expertise, why not expert solar power in the alternative? "It's Always Sunny In Saudi Arabia" isn't the most watched sitcom on Al-Jezeera, its a cold hard fact. If SA claims that they only want nuclear reactors in order to provide domestic power, thus being able to sell more of its oil, maybe it would be open to the idea?    I mean, no one lives there. population density is 11 people per sq km. So, how much domestic power do they really need? there is much uninhabited territory where miles of solar paneling could be installed.

he he, I just thougt about the humor of al-quada terrorists strapped w/ explosives, suicide bombing a row of solar panels.

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Seuss said:
People that know nothing about drugs should not pretend to be high and mighty while standing on their soap box spouting uninformed drivel.  The same goes for people that know nothing about nuclear power.

Although I am completely opposed to using nuclear fission for public use electrical power production, nuclear reactors for electrical power production can be built in such a way that they cannot be used to produce fissile fuel for nuclear weapons.

Were Saudi Arabia building uranium isotope separation plants or nuclear fuel processing plants, or were they not cooperating with the UN/IAEA, or were they doing research on ballistic warhead design, implosion techniques, or methods of  machining uranium and plutonium, then you guys would have an argument to work with.

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IMO, its incredibly shortsighted thing to do (and it shows that we dont seem to learn from past experiences in the region.) We oversold weapons, fighter jets, and civil nuclear technology to the Shah back in the 70s, and then all those things came under the control of a hostile regime after the Revolution. And, although I never hear about it in the media, SA doesnt seem all that stable of a monarchy.

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