Washington Nuclear Security Summit: Obama’s Strategy of Fear

While the number of countries, including Algeria, wishing to acquire nuclear technology for civil purposes continues to grow, Washington is opting for a strategy of fear to limit those aspiring to it, as evidenced by President Obama’s media statement raising the possibility of terrorists seizing atomic or biological weapons.

On the eve of the opening of the Nuclear Security Summit, which began yesterday in Washington, Barack Obama raised the volume by warning against nuclear terrorism. Thus, the White House boss gave a taste of the purpose of the meeting he convened by raising the possibility that terrorists could obtain a nuclear weapon and warning that this would represent “the single biggest threat to U.S. security.” It is clear that the United States intends to keep the club of nuclear powers closed. Meanwhile, the arm wrestling with Iran is in full swing with the amplification of pressure against that country’s regime to make it renounce its plans to acquire nuclear technology, because Europe only sees in it an attempt to develop nuclear weapons.

That vision is not shared by Algeria, which maintains that every country has the right to develop nuclear energy for civil purposes. This is what the chief Algerian diplomat, Mourad Medelci, was to reaffirm in the American capital during this exceptional meeting that gathered the leaders of nearly 50 countries. It should be recalled that Algiers, whose ambition is to develop a nuclear program for civil purposes so as to increase its production of electric energy and reduce its dependence on natural gas and oil, has signed several agreements to that effect with, in particular, the United States, China and France. Thus, Algeria, which sided with Iran in its fight to master nuclear technology for civil purposes, intends to have the right to this renewable energy source be recognized for all.

This is a difficult mission as the United States, which does not share this point of view, uses a strategy of fear to deter aspirants, as evidenced by this statement made on Sunday night by Barack Obama during a meeting with his South African counterpart, Jacob Zuma: “The single biggest threat to U.S. security, both short term, medium term and long term, would be the possibility of a terrorist organization obtaining a nuclear weapon.” In support of his argument, he added: “We know that organizations like al-Qaeda are in the process of trying to secure nuclear weapons or other weapons of mass destruction and would have no compunction at using them.” These statements show the lack of trust the United States has in countries that wish to acquire nuclear power; thus its need to control any transfer of such technology. The best proof of this is Washington’s insistence on wanting to stop the nuclear process, which has reached an advanced stage in North Korea, and to ensure by all means that Iran will not be able to use its atomic program for military purposes.

Americans, who consider that important quantities of uranium are distributed around the world in research reactors under security conditions that are precarious at times, organized this summit in order to achieve a consensus on the means to render safe any nuclear fuel that could be used to make a bomb.