Nuclear Non-Proliferation and America's Deal with Vietnam
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In a war that ended just 35 years ago, the US lost 58,000 soldiers in Vietnam. Now the Obama Administration is negotiating a deal that could give Vietnam the opportunity to enrich uranium, which includes the potential to make atom bombs. Vietnam says it only wants develop nuclear energy, but nonproliferation advocates say it’s a dangerous precedent and a threat to China. Also, the Federal Reserve will hold a pivotal meeting on the economy, and the driver for humanitarians allegedly killed by the Taliban is being held by authorities in Afghanistan.
Banner image: US Ambassador to Vietnam Michael Michalak (R) and Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Science and Technology Le Dinh Tien (L) raise a toast after signing a memorandum of understanding on the cooperation in the nuclear energy field on March 30, 2010 in Hanoi. Photo: Hoang Dinh Nam/AFP/Getty Images
Making News
Fed to Hold Pivotal Meeting on the Economy ()
The economic recovery is sputtering, and Wall Street investors are waiting to see what the Federal Reserve will do at tomorrow's meeting. James Politi reports from Washington for the Financial Times.
Guests:
- James Politi: US Economics and Trade Correspondent, Financial Times
Main Topic
Nuclear Non-Proliferation and America's Deal with Vietnam ()
The Obama Administration has set what's called the "gold standard" for helping other countries develop nuclear energy. The United Arab Emirates agreed not to enrich uranium on its own soil, a path to producing nuclear weapons. But Vietnam will be under no such restrictions. Vietnam says it won't build atom bombs, but nonproliferation advocates are outraged. They call it a risky giveaway to America's nuclear industry. Nuclear advocates say enrichment is no big secret, and that US squeamishness poses another risk: falling behind in a multi-billion dollar international business. What does it all have to do with China?
Guests:
- Jay Solomon: Chief Foreign Affairs Correspondent, Wall Street Journal, @SpoonSolomon
- Joseph Cirincione: President, Ploughshares Fund, @Cirincione
- William Tucker: Editor at Large, NuclearTownhall.com
- Henry Sokolski: former Deputy for Nonproliferation Policy, Defense Department
- Selig Harrison: Director of the Asia Program, Center for International Policy
Links:
- State Department's Bureau of International Security and Nonproliferation
- Obama, START treaty on nuclear disarmament and the Prague speech
- Solomon on US-Vietnam nuclear deal
- Cirincione's 'Bombscare: The History and Future of Nuclear Weapons'
- Tucker's 'Terrestrial Energy: How Nuclear Power Will Lead the Green Revolution and End America’s Energy Odyssey'
- Sokolski's 'Best of Intentions: America's Campaign against Strategic Weapons Proliferation'
Reporter's Notebook
Aid Workers Killed in Afghanistan ()
The International Assistance Mission has identified the ten workers massacred last week in northern Afghanistan, calling two of them "irreplaceable." Meantime, it's reported that their driver is being held by Afghan authorities. The Taliban have claimed responsibility for ambushing the humanitarians with decades of experience in Afghanistan, saying the group was not just supplying medical aid but spying and preaching Christianity.
Guests:
- Rod Nordland: Staff Writer, New York Times, @rodnordland
- Abby Stoddard: Partner, Humanitarian Outcomes
Links:
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