Quietly, the Mideast goes nuclear

AMMAN, Jordan — While the world focuses on nuclear programs in Iran and North Korea, around the globe more than 60 nations are looking to develop nuclear power for the first time — about 10 of them in the Middle East.
 
Over the last two years many Middle Eastern countries have either launched or revived their nuclear program, but unlike Iran they’ve maintained high levels of transparency. Among them is Jordan, which has been striving to reach the front of the Arab nuclear pack, hoping that atomic energy will help carry it into the next stage of its development. Still, as more Arab nations pursue peaceful nuclear programs, there are concerns that the rush could pave the way for an arms race if Iran builds a nuclear weapon.
 
“We have to secure a source of energy for Jordan in order to reach our goals and elevate the standard of living for Jordanians,” said Ned Xoubi, director general of Jordan Energy Resources Inc., which promotes the development of atomic energy here.
 
The need for an alternative power source is apparent in Jordan. It currently imports more than 95 percent of its energy. Fuel alone accounts for 25 percent of the country’s total imports. Consequently, the country is acutely sensitive to price fluctuations in oil and plagued by concerns about the security of its supply line.
 
Additionally, Jordan is the fourth most water-poor nation on earth and will face a major crisis if it cannot find a way to get more water. While desalination could solve many of Jordan’s problems, that process requires large amounts of electricity that the country doesn’t have.
 
But while Jordan has few natural resources, it does have uranium mines. Energy officials are still exploring the country’s uranium resources, but presently it is home to an estimated 65,000 tons, enough to power the desert nation for centuries.
 
Despite those uranium resources, when Jordan announced its intentions to go nuclear two years ago it was starting from scratch. None of the kingdom’s nearly 30 universities even had a nuclear engineering program. The Ministry of Education ordered the top science school, the Jordan University of Science and Technology (JUST), to create one.