Israel Matzav

Wikileaks: Egypt turned down nukes; UPDATED

Another Wikileaks document dump discloses that after the USSR disintegrated, Egypt turned down the opportunity to acquire nuclear weapons.

Secret U.S. State Department documents leaked by WikiLeaks have revealed that after the dissolution of the Soviet bloc a number of countries offered Egypt nuclear weapons, but President Hosni Mubarak had refused the offer.

According to a report in The Guardian, the Egyptian ambassador to the UN revealed the story to the Deputy U.S. foreign minister in charge of nuclear negotiations, in order to prove that Egypt is serious in its intent to clear the region of nuclear weapons.

Let's see if they still feel the same way once Iran has them.

UPDATE 1:15 PM BOSTON TIME

Here are some more details about this story.

In the leaked cable, Gottemoeller's associates wrote that "in an apparent attempt to portray Egypt as a responsible member of the international community, Abdelaziz claimed that Egypt had been offered nuclear scientists, materials and even weapons following the collapse of the Soviet Union, but Egypt had refused all such offers."

"Gottemoeller asked him how he knew this to be true, to which Abdelaziz replied he was in Moscow at that time and had direct personal knowledge."

Abdelaziz also told Gottemoeller that "Iran cannot be allowed to accquire nuclear weapons."

He expressed concern about Israel's purported nuclear arsenal, saying that "statements from Israeli's prime minister that his state possesses nuclear weapons do not contribute to security or stability."

That makes a little more sense. Note what I highlighted by bold.

Labels: Egypt, nuclear weapons, USSR, Wikileaks

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 5:57 PM