Just heard on John Batchelor that we now have satellite photos that Pakistan is (& has been) constructing a breeder reactor (heavy water) that will be able to produce over 200 kg of Pu/year, i.e., lots of plutonium bombs for sale to whomever.
China is backing this effort. What does that do the world-wide scenario now? I reallllyyyy don't like this.
I'm surprised Musharaff would do that.
In all honesty- My theory is that the key is Russia.
Bush needs to grab Putz Face by the collar and make it clear- he needs to start ACTIVELY working in the best interest of OUR National SECURITY, or consider himself a FOE...
As long as Russia is able to get away with playing friendly while systematically doing everything possible to weaken us through business deals and UN dealings- everyone else will feel comfortable doing the same.
If the US and Russia come together... it kinda tips the scales a bit too much for all the "in yer face" antics of the enemy.....
just my take...anyway...Russia is not our friend...they will help everyone else bring us down - just as Iran, etc...
But we need to call their bluff on it and stop pretending we don't KNOW what they are up to.
A reactor like that produces plutonium at a rates depending on the levels of power the reactor is run at. It is not a linear curve, and quantities produced drop off sharply below a certain knuckle in the curve.
Although Pakistan is a signatory to the NPT, they have never ratified it, but China is and has, so there is some measure of control, in theory at least.
The human race is moving from facing the spectre of nuclear annihilation on a national basis, to the lesser threat of lsoing entire cities in an instant, but the threat of proliferation is still one of the most significant challenges we face. Sustainable energy is another, and the combination of the two problems has the potential to be explosive.
Still, there is hope. Observing Pakistan and India evolve, after both looked into the abyss shortly before OIF, was encouraging. Although the process is slow, and in this case nearly invisible, even Iran is becoming aware that the power inherent in possessing nuclear weapons is tempered by the responsibility of certain knowlege that they and all their kind can vanish in a matter of hours, for all eternity.
For the record, I built more than 250 miles downwind of a major population center, more than 30 miles from the closest population center, and proliferation was at least a part of that decision making process.