Yemeni nuclear program?

In the opening salvo of his Presidential re-election campaign, one-time non-candidate President Ali Abdullah Saleh announced that his future plans for Yemen will include pursuing a peaceful nuclear program.   Hmm.  Reason for concern?   First Arab response to the Iranian nuclear programme?  Empty campaign promise from a guy who's had 28 years to do whatever he wants and hasn't got much to show for it?   Or just a way to generate electricity in a poor country?    I would see such the dangers of a Yemeni nuclear program as rather similar to Pakistan's, if it came to that - particularly worrisome given the nature of the leadership and the extent of radical Islamism in the country.  Thus far I've seen little reaction to Saleh's announcement outside of the Arab press. 

Comments

[issandr]

Thus far I've seen little reaction to Saleh's announcement outside of the Arab press.

Come on, Marc, Arab democracy is so last year! Or is it?

By achieving victory in Iraq, we will help Iraqis build a free nation in the heart of a troubled region, and inspire those who desire liberty -- those democratic reformers from Damascus to Tehran. By achieving victory in Iraq, we will honor the sacrifice of the brave men and women who have risked their lives and given their lives for a just and noble cause.

Victory in Iraq will not, in itself, end the war on terror. We're engaged in a global struggle against the followers of a murderous ideology that despises freedom and crushes all dissent, and has territorial ambitions and pursues totalitarian aims. This enemy attacked us in our homeland on September the 11th, 2001. They're pursuing weapons of mass destruction that would allow them to deliver even more catastrophic destruction to our country and our friends and allies across the world. They're dangerous. And against such enemy there is only one effective response: We will never back down, we will never give in and we will never accept anything less than complete victory. (Applause.)

We will keep the pressure on them. We will stay on the offense. We'll fight the terrorists in Afghanistan and Iraq and every battlefront in this struggle. Yet, in the long run, we will defeat the terrorists and their hateful ideology by spreading the hope of freedom across the world. Our strategy to protect America is based on a clear premise: The security of our nation depends on the advance of liberty in other nations.

On September the 11th, 2001, we saw that problems originating in a failed and oppressive state 7,000 miles away could bring murder and destruction to our country. And we learned an important lesson: Decades of excusing and accommodating the lack of freedom in the Middle East did nothing to make it safe. So long as the Middle East remains a place where freedom does not flourish, it will remain a place where terrorists foment resentment and threaten American security.

And so we pursue a forward strategy of freedom in the Middle East. We ought to be confident in the pursuit of that strategy, because liberty is universal. And by standing with those who desire liberty, we will help extend freedom to millions who have not known it, and lay the foundations of peace for generations to come. (Applause.) ...

Me confused now...

[aardvark]

Yes, but "Middle Eastern nuclear programs" are very much this year!