THE future dead can rest assured. They will be evaporated by nuclear weapons developed for ‘peaceful’ purposes. ‘Peaceful’ is a deceptive euphemism. Like a sheathed sword, it masks a sinister dread.

Indian prime minister Mrs Indira Gandhi used it to describe India’s first nuclear test Pokhran-I (nicknamed ‘Smiling Buddha’) on May 18, 1974. When asked how she would use nuclear power for peaceful purposes, she replied artfully: “Oh, for expanding harbours, for instance.” The reporter was quick off the mark: “Did you have Karachi harbour in mind?”

On July 22, 2026, the US and Saudi Arabia signed the 123 Agreement for Peaceful Nuclear Cooperation. It takes its name from Section 123 of the US Atomic Energy Act of 1954. That covers “long-term, strategic civil nuclear partnerships globally”, controls “exports of US-origin nuclear material (e.g., nuclear reactor fuel) and equipment (e.g. nuclear reactors and major components)”. To date, the US has signed 26 such agreements with 50 countries, including China, Russia, India, and the UAE.

In May 2009, the US and the UAE signed an agreement for “the development of peaceful use of nuclear energy”. The UAE agreed “not to seek enrichment or process spent atomic fuel”.........

© Dawn