# King Abdullah: Jordan wants nukes! **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [January 20, 2007, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/king-abdullah-jordan-wants-nukes/388720 "2007-01-20T16:14:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2007, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/king-abdullah-jordan-wants-nukes/388720/1 "2007-01-20T16:14:29Z")
Story [here.](http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/01/20/africa/ME-GEN-Mideast-Nuclear.php) The king seems to think Jordan having its own “peaceful nuclear program” is a perfectly reasonable idea. Is it? ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2007, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/king-abdullah-jordan-wants-nukes/388720/2 "2007-01-20T16:30:34Z")
[QUOTE=BrainGlutton] Story [here.](http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/01/20/africa/ME-GEN-Mideast-Nuclear.php) The king seems to think Jordan having its own “peaceful nuclear program” is a perfectly reasonable idea. Is it? [/QUOTE] Why wouldn’t it be? He says he wants all such programs under international monitors. ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2007, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/king-abdullah-jordan-wants-nukes/388720/3 "2007-01-20T17:06:35Z")
[QUOTE=BrainGlutton] Story [here.](http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/01/20/africa/ME-GEN-Mideast-Nuclear.php) The king seems to think Jordan having its own “peaceful nuclear program” is a perfectly reasonable idea. Is it? [/QUOTE] Is Jordan a signatory to the NPT? Then they have the right to work on and get help with a peaceful nuclear program for power. Besides, it’s Jordan we’re talking about here. ---
**Author:** ![pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pseudotriton_ruber_ruber)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2007, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/king-abdullah-jordan-wants-nukes/388720/4 "2007-01-20T17:28:45Z")
Dear Abdullah: INCOMING! Love, Israel. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2007, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/king-abdullah-jordan-wants-nukes/388720/5 "2007-01-20T19:57:16Z")
Why do they need nuclear power? They’ve got plenty of sunlight and plenty of desert in which to put solar farms. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2007, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/king-abdullah-jordan-wants-nukes/388720/6 "2007-01-20T20:04:27Z")
[QUOTE=pseudotriton ruber ruber] Dear Abdullah: INCOMING! Love, Israel. [/QUOTE] Are you kidding? Jordan is the closest thing we have to a friend in the Arab world. Abdullah is a smart guy - he is, after all, his father’s son - and we don’t have anything to worry about from his direction. As the article said, this is about Iran, not us. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2007, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/king-abdullah-jordan-wants-nukes/388720/7 "2007-01-20T20:26:06Z")
[QUOTE=Alessan] Are you kidding? Jordan is the closest thing we have to a friend in the Arab world. Abdullah is a smart guy - he is, after all, his father’s son - and we don’t have anything to worry about from his direction. As the article said, this is about Iran, not us. [/QUOTE] OTOH, Jordan is (1) the closest thing the Arab world has to a parliamentary democracy and (2) the only country outside the OTs with a significant population of **Palestinian** voters. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2007, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/king-abdullah-jordan-wants-nukes/388720/8 "2007-01-20T20:33:23Z")
Yeah. Don’t think that doesn’t keep us up at nights. But we’re not warming up the F-15 engines just yet. ---
**Author:** ![FRDE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e68b1a/32.png) [@FRDE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FRDE)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2007, 10:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/king-abdullah-jordan-wants-nukes/388720/9 "2007-01-21T10:33:39Z")
[QUOTE=BrainGlutton] OTOH, Jordan is (1) the closest thing the Arab world has to a parliamentary democracy and (2) the only country outside the OTs with a significant population of **Palestinian** voters. 😉 [/QUOTE] I think that Abdullah is USA educated - and the ruling Hashemites don’t much like the Palestinians - that is why they don’t want the West Bank back (they lost it in 1967) My guess is that this is a ploy - probably a setup so everyone can say ‘Yes, sure, do you want one from the USA, Russia or Japan’ ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2007, 11:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/king-abdullah-jordan-wants-nukes/388720/10 "2007-01-21T11:41:25Z")
[QUOTE=Quartz] Why do they need nuclear power? They’ve got plenty of sunlight and plenty of desert in which to put solar farms. [/QUOTE] Solar power is less practical than nuclear. Nukes are more reliable and produce more energy, among other things. ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2007, 11:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/king-abdullah-jordan-wants-nukes/388720/11 "2007-01-21T11:42:31Z")
[QUOTE=BrainGlutton] Story [here.](http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/01/20/africa/ME-GEN-Mideast-Nuclear.php) The king seems to think Jordan having its own “peaceful nuclear program” is a perfectly reasonable idea. Is it? [/QUOTE] Sure. The genie is out of the bottle, and ain’t going back in. Barring some technological breakthrough impossible to predict, nuclear power is the future anyway. ---
**Author:** ![FRDE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e68b1a/32.png) [@FRDE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FRDE)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2007, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/king-abdullah-jordan-wants-nukes/388720/12 "2007-01-21T14:06:12Z")
[QUOTE=Frank] Sure. The genie is out of the bottle, and ain’t going back in. Barring some technological breakthrough impossible to predict, nuclear power is the future anyway. [/QUOTE] Well I am hoping that the Nuclear Fusion project in France (which people are chipping in for) works out. I also reckon that Tidal is a good way of using existing technology. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2007, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/king-abdullah-jordan-wants-nukes/388720/13 "2007-01-21T14:18:13Z")
[QUOTE=FRDE] I also reckon that Tidal is a good way of using existing technology. [/QUOTE] It is, but to get the energy anywhere but the relatively small regions where tidal power is powerful _enough_ to justify building generators needs superconducting transmission cables, which I personally think can be _far_ more important that any single energy source - they represent the ability to distribute the energy anywhere with virtually no loss. ---
**Author:** ![rocking\_chair](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocking_chair/32/2918_2.png) [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2007, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/king-abdullah-jordan-wants-nukes/388720/14 "2007-01-22T01:33:09Z")
i’m with quartz, go solar, or wind, or both. do remember the queen is palestinian. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Rieux](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@Dr.Rieux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Rieux)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2007, 8:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/king-abdullah-jordan-wants-nukes/388720/15 "2007-01-22T08:07:40Z")
You’d think that after appearing on a\* Star Trek \* show he’d be pusing for Jordan to have warp techology. ---
**Author:** ![FRDE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e68b1a/32.png) [@FRDE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FRDE)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2007, 9:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/king-abdullah-jordan-wants-nukes/388720/16 "2007-01-23T09:17:03Z")
[QUOTE=Bryan Ekers] It is, but to get the energy anywhere but the relatively small regions where tidal power is powerful _enough_ to justify building generators needs superconducting transmission cables, which I personally think can be _far_ more important that any single energy source - they represent the ability to distribute the energy anywhere with virtually no loss. [/QUOTE] Are you sure about that, a heck of a lot of the earth has strong tides, I would envisage converting most of the electrical energy into hydrogen, and/or hydrocarbons and using conventional methods of transportation. It need not be particularly efficient. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2007, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/king-abdullah-jordan-wants-nukes/388720/17 "2007-01-23T14:42:51Z")
[QUOTE=Dr. Rieux] You’d think that after appearing on a\* Star Trek \* show he’d be pusing for Jordan to have warp techology. [/QUOTE] And then Bush’d tell Congress we needed to invade because Jordan was attempting to buy dilithium crystals from Nigeria. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2007, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/king-abdullah-jordan-wants-nukes/388720/18 "2007-01-23T19:49:00Z")
I blame Romulan subversion for this, personally. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2007, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/king-abdullah-jordan-wants-nukes/388720/19 "2007-01-24T19:32:39Z")
If you believe nukes are a deterrent, hen we should have all the nukes missles put in a huge pile. Then allow every country in the world could pick out a couple. Since nuke war would be threatened ,all countries would stop warring.Mutually assured destruction would come back with a surge. Peace would reign. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Ashtar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ea924/32.png) [@Lord\_Ashtar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Ashtar)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2007, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/king-abdullah-jordan-wants-nukes/388720/20 "2007-01-24T19:43:26Z")
[QUOTE=Alessan] Are you kidding? Jordan is the closest thing we have to a friend in the Arab world. Abdullah is a smart guy - he is, after all, his father’s son - and we don’t have anything to worry about from his direction. As the article said, this is about Iran, not us. [/QUOTE] Didn’t we used to say virtually the same thing about Saddam 20 years ago? Please note, I’m not advocating that Iraq had WMDs or nukes. Just pointing out how relatively quickly relations between countries can go sour. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/king-abdullah-jordan-wants-nukes/388720.md?page=2)