Comments on: de Klerk and Nuclear Weapons https://totalwonkerr.net/2006/05/16/de-klerk-and-nuclear-weapons/ Mon, 22 May 2006 05:57:43 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.0 By: jill https://totalwonkerr.net/2006/05/16/de-klerk-and-nuclear-weapons/#comment-154 Mon, 22 May 2006 05:57:43 +0000 http://www.totalwonkerr.net/de-klerk-and-nuclear-weapons/#comment-154 sort of related: What ever happened to Peter Goosen? (South African author of Principles and Objectives/king of NAM)

]]> By: Paul https://totalwonkerr.net/2006/05/16/de-klerk-and-nuclear-weapons/#comment-153 Wed, 17 May 2006 20:57:08 +0000 http://www.totalwonkerr.net/de-klerk-and-nuclear-weapons/#comment-153 s program, especially their graphite plutonium-producing reactor project, also known as “The Atlantic Project," which is being developed by the Special Projects Institute of the army’s technology center in Guaratiba district.”<br /> <br /> Brazil’s former secretary of state for science and technology, José Goldemberg, recently wrote a piece for ACT discussing the Brazilian nuclear weapons program. It’s not exactly what you’re looking for, but still might be of interest. <br /> <br /> http://www.armscontrol.org/act/2006_04/lookingback.asp]]> “Would love to see similar interview dealing with Brazil’s program, especially their graphite plutonium-producing reactor project, also known as “The Atlantic Project,” which is being developed by the Special Projects Institute of the army’s technology center in Guaratiba district.”

Brazil’s former secretary of state for science and technology, José Goldemberg, recently wrote a piece for ACT discussing the Brazilian nuclear weapons program. It’s not exactly what you’re looking for, but still might be of interest.

http://www.armscontrol.org/act/2006_04/lookingback.asp

]]> By: James https://totalwonkerr.net/2006/05/16/de-klerk-and-nuclear-weapons/#comment-152 Wed, 17 May 2006 20:16:09 +0000 http://www.totalwonkerr.net/de-klerk-and-nuclear-weapons/#comment-152 Of interest to me is what happened to those who worked on South Africas weapons programmes? There have been hints that some ended up working with the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation developing laser enrichment technology, which evolved into the company Silex Systems Ltd.
http://www.greenpeace.org.au/frontpage/pdf/silex_report.pdf

]]> By: hass https://totalwonkerr.net/2006/05/16/de-klerk-and-nuclear-weapons/#comment-151 Wed, 17 May 2006 18:53:18 +0000 http://www.totalwonkerr.net/de-klerk-and-nuclear-weapons/#comment-151 Would love to see similar interview dealing with Brazil’s program, especially their graphite plutonium-producing reactor project, also known as “The Atlantic Project,” which is being developed by the Special Projects Institute of the army’s technology center in Guaratiba district.

]]> By: Paul https://totalwonkerr.net/2006/05/16/de-klerk-and-nuclear-weapons/#comment-150 Wed, 17 May 2006 14:20:19 +0000 http://www.totalwonkerr.net/de-klerk-and-nuclear-weapons/#comment-150 Two good references on the South African program:

Scott Sagan, “Why Do States Build Nuclear Weapons? Three Models in Search of a Bomb,” International Security, Vol. 21, No. 3, 1996.

Mitchell Reiss, Bridled Ambition:Why Countries Constrain Their Nuclear Capabilities, 1995.

]]> By: fastfission https://totalwonkerr.net/2006/05/16/de-klerk-and-nuclear-weapons/#comment-149 Wed, 17 May 2006 14:05:09 +0000 http://www.totalwonkerr.net/de-klerk-and-nuclear-weapons/#comment-149 I too have had a really hard time figuring out why they would bother building one in the first place, if it was just about Soviet anxiety. Sure, the Soviets and Cubans got their junk all involved in Africa, but I find it hard to believe that they would actually have tried to invade S. Africa, and I find it hard to see how having six secret nukes would have helped them. Could they have even delivered them to the Soviet Union? To Cuba? I had a hard time finding information on their delivery capabilities at the time, but perhaps I just didn’t poke around enough.

They could have dropped them on Angola, sure, but would that have made much of a military difference, except to escalate things wildly? As a wise man once said, “the whole point of the doomsday machine is lost if you keep it a secret!”

I tried in vain to search over the descriptions of the S. African program on the web, and the best I could come up with is that perhaps they did intend to test one and join “the club” in the 1980s, but got pressured out of it and ended up with a bomb they couldn’t admit to and thus couldn’t really do anything with. If that’s the case, it would make a nice tale of bureaucratic rationality gone wrong.

In any case, Carey Sublette’s page has some nice pictures of the bomb casings. (http://nuclearweaponarchive.org/Safrica/BombCasings742c10.jpg) You’ve got to at least give them props for having very attractive weapons, as far as weapons go. They’re practically stylish, though lord knows what the aerodynamics would be like on what is basically a giant bullet.

]]> By: Paul https://totalwonkerr.net/2006/05/16/de-klerk-and-nuclear-weapons/#comment-148 Wed, 17 May 2006 09:00:00 +0000 http://www.totalwonkerr.net/de-klerk-and-nuclear-weapons/#comment-148 s take the word of a racist that his actions were not motivated by racism.”<br /> <br /> No one’s taking the word of anyone, skippy.]]> “Sure, let’s take the word of a racist that his actions were not motivated by racism.”

No one’s taking the word of anyone, skippy.

]]> By: RT https://totalwonkerr.net/2006/05/16/de-klerk-and-nuclear-weapons/#comment-147 Wed, 17 May 2006 08:08:10 +0000 http://www.totalwonkerr.net/de-klerk-and-nuclear-weapons/#comment-147 Sure, let’s take the word of a racist that his actions were not motivated by racism.

]]> By: Muskrat https://totalwonkerr.net/2006/05/16/de-klerk-and-nuclear-weapons/#comment-146 Tue, 16 May 2006 21:53:49 +0000 http://www.totalwonkerr.net/de-klerk-and-nuclear-weapons/#comment-146 I seem to recall reading something that speculated on South Africa’s reasons, and that one of them was they really had no use for the wepaons. The only two ways the government would fall would be internal collapse or insurgent infiltration from neighboring states. What good does a nuke or two do you against a country the size of Angola, facing a low-tech enemy army? And you can’t nuke Soweto.

]]> By: Hass https://totalwonkerr.net/2006/05/16/de-klerk-and-nuclear-weapons/#comment-145 Tue, 16 May 2006 17:15:18 +0000 http://www.totalwonkerr.net/de-klerk-and-nuclear-weapons/#comment-145 or about how the nuclear program is popular among Iranians:

”[A]ll factions of the political elite recognize the depth of popular support for Iran’s development of an advanced nuclear infrastructure (with full mastery over the fuel cycle), making it very difficult for them to openly support concessions to the West. Any major climb-down would be perceived by the public as a national humiliation. It is not clear what (if any) incentives the West can offer to change this fundamental dynamic.”

Mideast Monitor April/May 2006
http://www.mideastmonitor.org/issues/0604/0604_3.htm

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