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Egypt seeks to build nuclear bombs with Chinese help: report
afp ^ | 6/22/02

Posted on 06/22/2002 7:26:05 AM PDT by Ranger

BERLIN, June 22 (AFP) - Egypt is hoping to extract uranium from the Sinai peninsula with Chinese help with the aim of enriching it and making long-range missiles, Die Welt reported Saturday quoting western intelligence sources.

The newspaper said Cairo denies such plans and that the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA ) said it was unaware of such developments.

But the paper said there were increasing signs that Cairo was seeking to build nuclear wepaons. It carried a picture of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak on his last official visit to China in January, during which, according to Die Welt, a cooperation accord between the two countries was signed on the "peaceful use of atomic energy."

The deal included Chinese help in extracting uranium from the Sinai pensinsula, which forms Egypt's border with Israel, the paper said.

fan/rm/ns


TOPICS: Foreign Affairs
KEYWORDS: china; egypt; nuclearweapons
If someone is able to find and translate the original article from Die Welt that would be helpful.
1 posted on 06/22/2002 7:26:06 AM PDT by Ranger
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To: Ranger
Whatever it says, it doesn't look like good news.
2 posted on 06/22/2002 7:37:15 AM PDT by anniegetyourgun
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To: Ranger
Good thing the US gives them so much money to do this,
and good thing they are a peaceful people.

........ [/sarcasm

3 posted on 06/22/2002 7:41:23 AM PDT by Diogenesis
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To: Ranger
Egypt is particularly virulent in their hatred of America. A lot of their populace celebrated when 9/11 happened.

I didn't think Chinese liked Muslims all that much....

4 posted on 06/22/2002 7:43:32 AM PDT by Lazamataz
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To: Lazamataz
No, the Chinese want to help any nation that hates the US. China is the REAL enemy.
5 posted on 06/22/2002 7:46:28 AM PDT by 11B3
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To: All
Look this is an easy problem to solve.

The other nations of the world want nukes.

We want to get rid of our nukes.

I say let them have them, say at about a 5,000 foot ground burst.

Simple solution, we both get what we want!

6 posted on 06/22/2002 7:55:33 AM PDT by Lockbox
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To: Ranger; anniegetyourgun
Helping Egypt build the bomb??? Not only is it bad news in terms of geopolitical stability, but it is really stupid for the Egyptians to follow this course. This represents an enormous waste of money in consideration of the Egypt's monumental poverty and economic development problems.

As for the Chinese - does anyone have some ideas on how arms proliferation fits into the strategic thinking of the Chinese leadership? They appear to be engaged in short-term profiteering, similar to the sort of profiteering in arms which Europeans (i.e., France and Germany) are so noted in the past helping Libya, Iran, and Iraq in similar endeavors.

The scariest aspect of the Chinese doing this sort of thing is that they are both inexperienced and inept when it comes to international relations and geopolitics. The Chinese regime cannot be trusted - not only because they are a bunch of low life communist thugs, but also because they really do not know what they are doing on the world scene.

7 posted on 06/22/2002 8:36:49 AM PDT by citizenK
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To: Lazamataz
I didn't think Chinese liked Muslims all that much....

Using rogue proxies is a brilliant ChiCom strategy we haven't quite wised up to. They have proved that arming Islamist rogue nations with nuclear weapons, who then blackmail other countries, furthers their own agenda worldwide: Pakistan, N. Korea!

8 posted on 06/22/2002 9:25:35 AM PDT by mikeIII
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To: citizenK
You comments (coupled with the following after comment to yours) is why I said - this can't be good news.
9 posted on 06/23/2002 6:51:00 AM PDT by anniegetyourgun
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To: Ranger
Here's the link from "Die Welt" and here's a translation via babelfish. It was little bit long for me to want to translate it myself- babelfish doesn't do too badly it just doesn't adjust the word order/sentence structure from German to English very well. I translated a couple words that babelfish didn't know and they are in ().

Secret service: Cairo wants to build atom bombs Egypt is to be about to enrich with the help of of China uranium and buy langstreckenraketen
Of Jacques shoemaker

Berlin - Egypt is about, on the Sinai peninsula uranium to schuerfen (mine for, prospect for) to enrich with Chinese assistance and acquire langstreckenraketen (long range rockets). To this conclusion come western secret service circles, which passed on the WORLD information about of Cairo efforts to rig substantial and supply themselves with ABC weapons. The Egyptian government denies any intention of working on a nuclear military project. Also the international atomic energy authority in Vienna indicates on demands to know from any weapon developments in Egypt nothing.

The references consolidate themselves nevertheless that Cairo strengthens its efforts to acquire and enrich uranium in such a manner that it became in the future possible to manufacture nuclear weapons. An indication for it is the signing of a Egyptian-Chinese agreement over co-operation with the peaceful use of the atomic energy. The present Treaty was signed with the last attendance president Hosni Mubaraks in Peking from 23 to 26 January of this yearly. The agreement, which was kept far going secret, plans exact precautions for co-operation according to secret service information with research and development, when detection and use of uranium deposits. A central component of the agreement is the Chinese assistance with the dismantling of natural uranium deposits on the Sinai peninsula. However co-operation represents most important range of the contract with China to the out Egyptian view with the study of the production of uranium hexafluoride (UF6), which is used during the enrichment by uranium in centrifuges. This kind of the uranium enrichment was developed first 1940 with the Manhattan project so mentioned of the Americans for the building of an atom bomb. In the last years also Iran and the Iraq tried to enrich in this way uranium.

If one follows the statements from secret service circles, Egypt strives in addition to plumb in different African states the purchase of uranium. That is called again and again the Niger as one of the potential trade partners. In addition there are signs for it, so the secretofficial sources that Cairo acquired already natural uranium. Meaning comes to information from China in this connection. After this source Peking is to have refused in July 2001 leaving an Egyptian cargo ship in its territorial waters. The freighter was to a considerable degree radioactively contaminated, it was said.

Which concerns the langstreckenraketen (long range rockets/missiles), Cairo stands since end of the nineties in the suspicion to co-operate with North Korea. Again and again there were messages over Egyptian attempts to acquire North Korea niche NO-Dong-rockets which can reach up to 1300 kilometers. It seems that the Egyptian Ministry of Defense shifted the purchase of these rockets at present. Secret service circles however believe that Cairo delays the transaction only in consideration of the present American policy opposite North Korea. A cause for this speculation are the knowledge of western secret services of the substantial purchase of trucks of the type Maz-547, which Egypt in North Korea, white Russia and the Ukraine transacts. Trucks of this class become frequently as launching pad for rockets generally, for which NO-Dong-rocket in the special one uses. Secret service experts are afraid, Cairo ready everything for the acquisition of these rockets forwards, in order to transact the trade at suitable opportunity. As a favorable time for the purchase the beginning of the American offensive is called against the Iraq. Washington would be busy in these weeks with other things, therefore diverted, it means.

The Egyptian government disclaims all this messages. Mubarak stresses nevertheless for a long time that an Egyptian military power for the equilibrium, capable of the deterrence, is essential in the Near East. Which could be meant with it, its advisors explain. The experts to American "Wisconsin of the Project" for the monitoring of nuclear weapons, about report in their risk report on Egypt that high-ranking Egyptian official ones refer again and again to how necessarily own nuclear weapons before the background of the Israeli nuclear capacities are. In addition also an opinion contribution Mustafa aluminium Baqis in the Egyptian daily paper "aluminium-Ahram" fits from 21 May of this yearly. In this article the close trusted friend of the president deplores omission of Cairo no nuclear weapons to have acquired. Aluminium Baqi requests the government to consider their past attitude and procure themselves nuclear weapons. This happens, the situation in the Near East will probably continue to intensify.

10 posted on 06/23/2002 3:18:37 PM PDT by Prodigal Son
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