One of France’s foremost nuclear scientists has warned that Iraq might have a nuclear bomb in a few years from now. The scientist, Francis Perrin, is the former head of France’s Atomic Energy Commission and the man responsible for creating the French atomic bomb.
Perrin said in an interview yesterday with a French newspaper that the quantity of uranium supplied by France along with the assistance in technicians, equipment and training facilities should enable Boghdodo have a nuclear thinking force of its own by the mid-1980s.
The scientist warned that any small or medium sized country could be tempted to use the bomb as a form of blackmail. He added, “fortunately for Israel and the rest of us, Israel has the (atomic) bomb already and would probably not give in to any nuclear blackmail.”
Perrin was in charge of the French nuclear commission at the time of France-Israeli cooperation in this field and is one of the world scientists best informed on Israel’s own atomic research and achievements.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
