Egyptian MPs want nuclear bomb
Pastor Dale Morgan
Egyptian MPs want nuclear bomb*
In stormy Parliament session, many politicians call on government to
'change diplomatic language', work to obtain nuclear weapons,
particularly after Olmert implied that Israel possesses such a bomb
Roee Nahmias
Egyptian Parliament members have called on their government to seriously
work to obtain nuclear weapons.
The Egyptian newspaper al-Masry al-Youm reported that during a stormy
meeting held Friday by the Parliament's national security, defense,
foreign and Arab affairs committees, Ibrahim al-Jaafri of the Muslim
Brotherhood called on the government to "change the country's diplomatic
language".
Rare Remark
Mubarak hints: We’ll develop nukes / Roee Nahmias
During summit with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Egyptian president hints
that if Iran attains nukes, Egypt will have to also in order to defend
itself. Up until now Egypt has claimed its nuclear program was for
energy purposes only
The remarks were made after Prime Minister Ehud Olmert implied that
Israel possesses nuclear weapons during a visit to Germany about two
months ago.
Jaafri's colleague, Abed al-Fatah Amar, also called on the government to
obtain nuclear weapons for deterrence purposes, while Parliament Member
Esmat Sadat criticized the government for ignoring the nuclear plan.
"We have no one to complain about but ourselves. I am afraid that the
nuclear project will turn into 'business' and a matter of interests," he
said.
During the meeting, many criticized former Arab League Secretary-General
Dr. Esmat Abdul Meguid for expressing doubts over the possibility that
Israel has nuclear weapons, calling his remarks "dangerous" and
"irresponsible."
"Olmert's confession cancelled all doubts. Abdul Meguid's statements are
irresponsible because he is not in power, but he meant to say in his
statements that Israel is lying all the time," said Dr. Mustafa al-Fiqi,
chairman of the Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee.
Last month, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak hinted during a meeting
with Olmert in Sharm al-Sheikh that his country may aspire to obtain
nuclear weapons if another country in the region (apparently Iran –
R.N.) acquires such weapons.
“We don’t want nuclear weapons,” Mubarak stated, “But since they appear
highly present in the area, we must defend ourselves."